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PFL Brussels just had one of the weirdest MMA moments of 2026.
Combat sports veteran Joe Schilling waived off his fight against Donegi Abena and walked out of the cage at ING Arena in Belgium, fuming, handing over a TKO victory by retirement to his opponent, Donegi Abena, who committed a blatant foul. The fight ended in 37 seconds.
Schilling (4-7) and Abena (1-0) exchanged a few shots right away from the start. Schilling clinched Abena, fell to his back with Abena on top of him in his guard, and the chaos erupted.
Abena clearly headbutted Schilling, which is illegal in MMA. The shot didn't appear to connect cleanly and didn't visibly cut or damage Schilling, as he moved his head out of the way. The American began immediately complaining, and the fight was paused by referee Mike Beltran.
Schilling, fuming, stood up and began yelling at Abena and pacing back and forth. Abena was deducted a point for his foul. Schilling said he didn't want to continue and tried waving off the fight. The referee warned him that he'd lose the fight should he not continue, and he then had a change of mind. They tried to resume the fight on the ground, but Schilling didn't like being placed in the same position before the foul and stood up again, this time calling the fight off for good.
Schilling walked out of the octagon, and Abena was given a win by TKO due to retirement. It was an odd and puzzling scene. You can watch the sequence in the video below:
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: PFL Brussels: Joe Schilling loses cool, stops fight in bizarre scene
Continue reading...
Combat sports veteran Joe Schilling waived off his fight against Donegi Abena and walked out of the cage at ING Arena in Belgium, fuming, handing over a TKO victory by retirement to his opponent, Donegi Abena, who committed a blatant foul. The fight ended in 37 seconds.
Schilling (4-7) and Abena (1-0) exchanged a few shots right away from the start. Schilling clinched Abena, fell to his back with Abena on top of him in his guard, and the chaos erupted.
Abena clearly headbutted Schilling, which is illegal in MMA. The shot didn't appear to connect cleanly and didn't visibly cut or damage Schilling, as he moved his head out of the way. The American began immediately complaining, and the fight was paused by referee Mike Beltran.
Schilling, fuming, stood up and began yelling at Abena and pacing back and forth. Abena was deducted a point for his foul. Schilling said he didn't want to continue and tried waving off the fight. The referee warned him that he'd lose the fight should he not continue, and he then had a change of mind. They tried to resume the fight on the ground, but Schilling didn't like being placed in the same position before the foul and stood up again, this time calling the fight off for good.
Schilling walked out of the octagon, and Abena was given a win by TKO due to retirement. It was an odd and puzzling scene. You can watch the sequence in the video below:
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: PFL Brussels: Joe Schilling loses cool, stops fight in bizarre scene
Continue reading...
