Merriman talks about the importance of having a blueprint in place before its time to hang up the cleats, using harsh negativity as fuel, staying engaged with your audience, and keeping your body right. But making the career switch took plenty of planning and mental toughness, as he explains in this week’s Winning Strategy. Having a nickname such as “Lights Out,” as well as a stellar eight-year NFL career before injuries forced him to retire in 2012, made the transition from All-Pro to all things business slightly smoother than others may face. And now, coming back, finally, and being live-streamed on Fubo Sports, it’s bigger, and I’m excited.” “It may have just been a monetary hit for me, but for them, it was bigger. “When we got shut down last March, I realized the fighters were still preparing, still sparring, working their asses off, but couldn’t fight,” Merriman recalls. Merriman kept fighting as well, and his reward: He announced recently that LXF5 will be live-streamed globally for the first time by Fubo Sports Network, a big step toward LXF’s continued rise among fight organizations, especially with such a layoff. As doubt over if and when the next event would take place hovered, Merriman took note of the fighters commitment to training in search of earning their big break in MMA. With restrictions and shutdowns of most people’s livelihoods, including live, in-person events taking its toll on residents and business owners, Merriman had his own decisions to make about LXF’s future. If I had walked away just because something didn’t go according to plan, I’d never get here.”Ī year ago, no one planned for COVID-19, as states such as California began locking down in March of 2020. Now more people are just starting to take notice of MMA, so it’s taken me nearly two decades to figure this out. “I’ve been at this Lights Out thing for 15 years. “I guess it’s taken me 16 years to be an overnight success in this business,” the 2005 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year says. 7 with LXF5 held at LA’s Commerce Casino. In 2019, Merriman finally launched Lights Out Xtreme Fighting, a SoCal-baaed MMA organization which featured four events in 2019 and makes its return on Aug. Behind the scenes, while Merriman was training in MMA to work on his sack skills that made him an NFL superstar during his eight-year career with the San Diego Chargers and Buffalo Bills in the mid 2000s, he began toying with the idea of developing his own MMA organization. It started with finding fabric and logos to create his Lights Out clothing brand.
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Merriman had been handed a brand that would represent power and strength long after his football days ended. Merriman knew as a teenager there was more to the moniker than just a reputation for big hits.
#Shawne merriman lights out pro#
It’s been a wild ride filled with both commitment and uncertainty ever since the two-time NFL All-Pro and three-time Pro Bowl selection earned his “Lights Out” nickname after knocking four opponents unconscious in one game as a high school sophomore. For the first time in nearly two years, Shawne Merriman can finally turn the lights back on “Lights Out.”