 Schilt debuted in mixed martial arts for Japanese promotion Pancrase, in which he debuted on May 16, 1996 with an impressive rear naked choke victory over grappler Manabu Yamada.His second match, happened in July 22, was against rising star Yuki Kondo, whom Schilt would face three more times in his career.In the first of their matches, Kondo showed himself as the better wrestler, but Schilt's size enabled him to power out of his control and win some exchanges.