Joe Schilling’s return to a significant fight sports activities platform will come in opposition to a fellow elite striker, as he’s set to face former GLORY gentle heavyweight champion Donegi Abena at PFL Brussels on Might 23 at ING Area in Brussels, Belgium. The bout, agreed for gentle heavyweight, will function Abena’s lengthy‑awaited combined martial arts debut and pits two excessive‑stage kickboxers in opposition to one another beneath the PFL banner. Match originall introduced by Mike Bohn.
Joe Schilling vs. Donegi Abena within the PFL Introduced
Schilling’s inclusion on this matchup is critical due to his personal in depth background in excessive‑stage hanging. He’s a veteran of GLORY’s middleweight division and a protracted‑time determine in American kickboxing, recognized for violent finishes and a willingness to face high opposition through the peak of the GLORY period in North America.
His kickboxing résumé consists of notable knockouts that had been replay staples on fight sports activities spotlight reels, and that historical past is central to why PFL has positioned him reverse Abena reasonably than utilizing the GLORY champion in a softer introduction to MMA. Schilling additionally owns prior expertise in MMA, competing sporadically through the years whereas juggling his kickboxing profession, which provides a layer of familiarity with the cage that Abena doesn’t but have.
Abena arrives at PFL Brussels as a latest GLORY gentle heavyweight titleholder making a strategic transfer from kickboxing to combined martial arts. In GLORY, he fought his means via a tricky division, ultimately profitable the sunshine heavyweight belt and cementing himself as among the finest kickboxers in that weight vary.
His resolution to signal with PFL and debut in 2026 adopted rising dialogue in European battle media in regards to the state of the kickboxing market and the enchantment of MMA’s bigger world attain and monetary upside. For PFL, securing Abena on a protracted‑time period deal and assigning his first battle to a European card indicators clear intent to put money into hanging‑primarily based skills with present title worth on that aspect of the Atlantic.
The stylistic pairing is on the coronary heart of why this battle stands out on the Brussels card. Schilling’s historical past in GLORY and different kickboxing organizations means he understands Abena’s world higher than most MMA veterans would. Each males have spent years competing beneath guidelines that reward aggressive hanging and exact timing, and that shared background shapes expectations for a way the early exchanges could look.
The important thing unknowns revolve round how Abena adapts to MMA’s prolonged rule set and whether or not Schilling’s prior expertise with takedowns, clinch grappling, and cage positioning provides him a sensible edge as soon as the battle strikes past pure stand‑up. Even when each favor to commerce on the toes, the specter of stage modifications, clinch journeys, and floor scrambles might be current in a means neither confronted in GLORY.
This bout features as a collision of two totally different phases of the kickboxing‑to‑MMA pipeline. Schilling represents an earlier wave of GLORY and American kickboxers who examined the waters of MMA earlier than the present PFL period, usually with out the good thing about a structured season format or the promotional focus the league now locations on crossover stars.
Abena, in contrast, arrives as a latest world champion at a comparatively younger age, coming into MMA with momentum and a transparent promotional push behind him. A powerful debut from Abena in Brussels would instantly place him on the radar for future PFL campaigns and reinforce the concept that high European and Surinamese‑Dutch strikers can efficiently transition to the cage.
For Schilling, an upset over the previous GLORY champion could be a major end result that might revive his MMA run and add a notable win to his report at a time when PFL is increasing its worldwide schedule and constructing depth throughout divisions.
The occasion is headlined by unbeaten Belgian welterweight Patrick “The Belgian Bomber” Habirora (8‑0) in opposition to former UFC champion Benson “Easy” Henderson (30‑12), with Schilling–Abena a part of the supporting lineup.
