MMA Weekly launched its official podcast this week, and the first episode was outstanding. Shawne Merriman made a legendary appearance, speaking all things MMA, Jake Paul’s boxing career, and Donald Trump’s assassination attempt.
Merriman is a former NFL standout who rose to superstardom during his debut season with the San Diego Chargers. The linebacker captured the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award and went on to make three Pro Bowl and two All-Pro selections. Unfortunately for ‘Light’s Out’, injuries would plague his career, stunting his career in the National Football League to just seven years.
However, football isn’t the only sport Shawne Merriman has a keen interest in. While making an appearance on the MMA Weekly podcast, Merriman discussed his transition over to mixed martial arts.
The 40-year-old is the founder of rising combat sports promotion Lights Out Xtreme Fighting. Hoping to provide the fan’s with high quality fights for free, Merriman is airing LXF events on his new streaming service — which offers numerous other sporting events and movies, suitable for every sporting fan.
“So, I just launched Light’s Out Sports TV — my own streaming service,” Merriman said on the MMA Weekly podcast. “It’s like a free, ad-supported, multisports streaming service.”
One of his standout shows on the streaming platform is the aforementioned LXF. Merriman has a lot of belief in his product and is hoping to showcase some of his future events on the coveted UFC Fight Pass.
“I’m trying to get some of the fights for Lights Out Xtreme Fighting on Fight Pass now.”
“To me personally, when it comes to combat sports, I think Fight Pass is the best across the board because they’ve got a little bit of everything.”
Merriman went on to explain how he transitioned from NFL to MMA post-retirement.
“So, I grew up boxing. My uncles were professional boxers. So, naturally, from where I grew up in PG County, Maryland, Washington DC, we just grew up boxing.”
“I was hitting the mitts one day in the gym and [Jay Glazer of Fox Sports] looked over and said, ‘Oh, sh*t. You can box?’ I said, ‘Yeah, a little bit.’ I’m not a professional boxer but I can go.”
“[He said], ‘Have you tried MMA? I think it’ll help you out in football.’ So, he text me an address, the next day I showed up and it was at Randy Couture’s gym when it was in LA.”
“I went in there with Randy the first day and I was pummelling and doing ground work, a lot of hand combat stuff and I just saw what it did for me as a football player.”
“So, I started training with all these guys. All the big-name guys in the mid 2000s, I started hanging and training with them after I was done with my football workouts. That’s how I got into the business.”
“Then I ended up launching my own promotion in 2019. So, it’s been crazy, man. We’re a regional organization, but it’s kind of grown the last two years.”
Shawne Merriman’s passion for MMA grew so much that he had hopes of one day competing in the sport.
“Initially, I was planning on fighting for Bellator. It never happened because, at the time, you’ve got to think, I retired in 2013. This whole celebrity, influencer stuff didn’t get big until like 2019 or 20.”
“So, I was ahead of my time for the money that I was looking for. It was crazy to them for what I was asking for [but] now it’s a starting point.”
Merriman later turned his attention to Jake Paul’s splash in the boxing world.
“I’ve got a pretty decent relationship with Jake and I seen him work from the start…” Merriman said. “I saw him working. Running hills, sparring other guys that had six to ten pro fights, and getting after him.”
“[I watched him] getting clocked, coming right back, and I was like, ‘This dude is gonna be something.’ I don’t know how far he’s gonna take it, but he’s going to make a lot of noise on the industry…”
Related: Jake Paul stops Mike Perry after scoring multiple knockdowns
The NFL veteran went on to discuss the controversial Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson matchup.
“I think it’ll happen but I think the steam is off of it… The worst thing that could have happened in that situation is he had a health problem. People are already worried about him fighting because of his age, because of his health, and the fact that the fight didn’t happen yet because of his health. It just takes the steam off a little bit on what it was.”
Moving on to the failed assassination attempt on Donald Trump, Merriman opened up about being emotional watching it all unfold.
“I was watching it live when it happened. When it happened, I thought he was swatting it like a bug… And then I heard the gunshots and I heard them drop.”
“I teared up. I teared up, man, because I thought that we’ve all watched the former president get assassinated on live TV. I was tearing up because, obviously, I’m close with Donald Trump, and I’m close with Jr…”
“I almost cried. I thought we seen him get assassinated on live TV. I was shaken. I was shaken like hell.”
Make sure to check out the brilliant MMA Weekly podcast featuring Shawne Merriman below!
