'Epic KO': Kickboxing world champ Joe Schilling left in crumpled heap by thunderous Bellator knockout (VIDEO)

World-class striker Joe Schilling got a taste of his own medicine as he suffered a brutal third-round knockout loss to Tony Johnson during Friday's Bellator 229 card at The Forum in Inglewood, California.

Schilling is among the more heralded strikers currently competing in mixed martial arts but if he is used to being the hammer in the majority of his contests, he found himself as the nail when he squared off with Tony Johnson as part of Bellator's latest card. 

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After a promising opening to the first round in which he repeatedly put his opponent off balance with a barrage of leg kicks, Johnson gave Schilling a taste of what was to come when he dropped him late in the round and attempted to secure a guillotine choke submission.

Schilling survived the danger and began to re-establish himself on the feet but the fight would be stopped at the 2:07 mark of the third after Johnson landed a left hook after Schilling missed with a step-in elbow. 

The shot sent Schilling crumbling to the canvas where Johnson tied a bow around his performance by landing a right hand to the defenceless fighter moments before the referee called the bout.

The loss is Schilling's sixth in ten professional MMA bouts and comes after successive wins in his last two fights. Elsewhere on the card, Lorenz Larkin defeated Andrei Koreshkov by split decision in the main event while Goiti Yamauchi earned a first-round armbar submission win against Saad Awad.