Dante Schiro Interview: Ready To Seize Opportunity at Bellator 265
Wisconsin’s Dante Schiro carries a winner’s mentality with him inside and outside of the cage. He’s looking to prove just that at Bellator 265 in what is his promotional debut. Schiro is ready to seize the opportunity ahead of him.
In this exclusive conversation with the rising welterweight, he detailed how he’s prepared for Bellator 265, how he plans to defeat Logan Storley, his never-give-up mindset, and much more.
Schiro has called Wisconsin home for just about his entire life. That is until he and his wife recently decided to take their talents to Colorado to better themselves and their careers.
Dante Schiro Interview
“Yes I’m currently in Denver,” Schiro said. “Me and my wife decided to make the move out here. We don’t know how long we’ll be out here, but who knows where life will take us. We moved out here to advance both of our careers. I’ve been out here getting better training, coaching, and a different perspective. We’re getting away from it for a little bit cause why not? Ya know.”
The 28-year-old is a family man through and through. Having a strong support system to lean on while he chases his dreams has helped him keep a winner’s mentality.
“It’s huge man,” he affirmed, “It’s so nice to have that strong support system, but once in a while it can be a little overwhelming because you gotta prove everybody right. Everybody that I have around me believes in me so it can be a bit overwhelming, but I love it. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Our family has always been really close, which made it a little hard moving out here (Denver). Like I said though, gotta do what you gotta do, it’s a mentality.”
Bellator Debut
“I’m feeling great man I’m super excited for this,” Schiro proclaimed. “I haven’t been this excited for a fight in a long time. This is a huge opportunity for me and I’m also feeling better than ever. So it’s really just amazing. I feel like everything’s falling into place.”
Dante Schiro (8-2) takes on Logan Storley (11-1) in his promotional debut at Bellator 265. Schiro has competed for prominent organizations in the past like LFA and ONE Championship, but he knows this is bigger and he’s ready to seize the opportunity at hand.
“I like the matchup a lot,” he confirmed. “I’ve seen this matchup coming for a while and now that it’s happening it’s kinda like I’ve seen it coming so I’m not surprised. He’s known to be a good wrestler, he’s got decent striking and whatnot, but I think it’s gonna come down to who’s the better mixed martial artist. Ultimately that’s what we’re in there doing. All around I just think that I have more to offer and that’s what it’s gonna come down to that night. I do expect a finish. I could see it being by submission or on the feet honestly.”
Fighting Through Adversity
“Yeah I’ve been there before a million times in practice,” Schiro replied when asked why he’s comfortable dealing with adversity in fights. “The guys that I train with are world-class. Like I get beat up in the gym, I eat other people up in the gym, it’s nothing new to me. Like that fight against Roberston, I did that on one of my worst nights. That fight I did not show up in so imagine what I’m gonna do when I’m ready for the day and showing up.”
Schiro won reeled off six straight wins, five by finish, upon turning pro in 2018. Then, he hit back-to-back roadblocks in what were narrow decision defeats. Impressively, that did not dissuade Schiro’s confidence as he’s since amassed two consecutive victories (both finishes).
“Yeah there’s a lot to those losses underneath the surface,” he began, “But at the end of the day, it is what it is. Anybody who stays in this game long enough is gonna lose, same goes for regular-day life. You have to learn how to take a loss and bounce back from it. Even if I lost three in a row I’m still pushing forward. My goal is to become a world champion so if I were to quit after a couple losses, that would be I’m just not cut out for this. I just stuck to the course and it pays off.”
Conclusion of Dante Schiro Interview
Despite dominantly running through his last two opponents, Schiro firmly believes he is miles better than he was just a few months ago. However, that doesn’t just mean physically, but mentally as well.
“I feel like I’ve kinda fine-tuned everything,” Schiro stated. “I do mean that. People say that stuff all the time, but I’ve truly been focusing on areas that I need to get better and I’ve been working on them. I haven’t been afraid to try things in practice and fail, which has helped me to grow a lot. The other biggest thing is just mentally. My last couple of fights were just kinda like other fights like I got through it, and like we just talked about, I bounced back. Mentally I’m just in a better place right now overall. When you can connect the two, mental and physical, you’re gonna be at your best, and I feel like when I’m at my best nobody’s gonna be able to beat me.”
Make sure to watch Dante Schiro compete on the Bellator 265 main card. The event is scheduled for Friday, Aug. 20 at 9 PM (ET) streaming on Showtime.
Check back here for more exclusive conversations with the world’s greatest mixed martial artists.
