Joe Shilling Quits 37 Seconds Into PFL Brussels Comeback After Headbutt Foul
Joe Shilling quit his PFL Brussels fight against Donegi Abena 37 seconds in after an illegal headbutt, then claimed it should be ruled a DQ in his favor.
MMA fighter Joe Schilling re entered the cage after a seven year absence only to exit just 37 seconds later. The kickboxing veteran bowed out of his PFL Brussels fight against Donegi Abena after an illegal headbutt in one of the fighting world's weirdest finishes. The bout was awarded to Abena with a TKO retirement. Schilling, who is 42, left the ING Arena furious.
37 Seconds Of Chaos
The fight barely started before it ended. Schilling and Abena exchanged a few shots, clinched, and went to the mat with Abena landing in Schilling's full guard. Then Abena threw a headbutt from top position. The shot didn't appear to connect clean or do any visible damage, but Schilling reacted like a bomb went off. He jumped up screaming and started cursing at Abena. Paced back and forth across the cage demanding referee Mike Beltran stop the fight immediately.
Beltran did take a point from Abena for the foul. Headbutts are illegal and that part was the right call. But he did not wave the fight off. He wanted to restart. Schilling initially seemed willing to continue from the bottom position but when Beltran told him he couldn't secure double overhooks before the restart, that was it.
"No, he f***ing fouled, and now you're gonna give him back the position," Schilling said.
He stood up and he was done. Beltran tried talking him into continuing but Schilling wouldn't budge. The fight was waved off.
Schilling Says it Should Have Been A DQ
The next day Schilling broke his silence and doubled down. He said the headbutt should have resulted in a disqualification, not a point deduction followed by a restart.
"That's a DQ in my mind," Schilling said.
Honestly there is an argument there. Headbutts are one of the most dangerous fouls in MMA and the rules do allow for a DQ when an intentional foul prevents a fighter from continuing. But Schilling wasn't unable to continue. He chose not to. The headbutt didn't visibly hurt him, he wasn't cut. But he was angry. And that's the part that's hard to get around. Beltran handled the foul and took a point. The fight was being restarted and Schilling just didn't like how it was being restarted.
Seven Years Away From The Sport
This was supposed to be Schilling's big comeback. The dude hadn't fought MMA since 2019. He's a respected name in kickboxing with legitimate credentials from Glory. At 42 years old, coming back to fight on a PFL Brussels card that was headlined by Patrick Habirora's 21 second knockout of Benson Henderson, the stage was there for a moment.
Instead it turned into one of the strangest scenes of 2026. A veteran fighter quitting 37 seconds into his comeback over a foul that didn't visibly do anything. The clip has been everywhere since Saturday. Today Schilling said he's "tuning out the noise" from fans and media who criticized the walkoff. But the noise isn't going away anytime soon. Abena committed a foul, that's true. But Schilling chose to leave. And in MMA, that choice gets recorded as a loss no matter how you feel about it.
"No, he f***ing fouled, and now you're gonna give him back the position," Schilling said before walking out of the cage for what might be the last time.
