Fighters talk trash on Twitter all day. Matter of fact, it’s not out of the ordinary for fights to be promoted, or even be booked based off of social media. This next one though, it’s out of left field. Cult MMA icon Phil Baroni has some interesting phrases and words for Bellator and GLORY kickboxer Joe Schilling. He hit Schilling with some straight big brother bully talk, then threatened him with a pro-wrestling submission. Somehow, even MMA analyst Robin Black got wrapped into it.
Phil Baroni hasn’t fought in MMA since 2014, but he’s been teaming up with former UFC fighter Stephan Bonnar on the independent wrestling circuit. Despite a couple of years of MMA fights, Schilling has been a champion kickboxer and training with Nate Diaz. There’s no way to know if the end game here is an MMA or kickboxing bout in Bellator, or just Phil Baroni stirring up stuff for fun and giggles. Either way, you’re not going to find any trash talk quite like what unfolded last night.
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 10/20/2017.