Shawne Merriman wants Khalil Mack and Derwin James to fight in his MMA promotion

Shawne Merriman wants Khalil Mack and Derwin James to test their skills in the cage

Shawne Merriman was a beast on the field and developed a reputation for his incredible will to win, which ultimately resulted in him making the Pro Bowl on three occasions.

But as good as he was at football, the sportsman’s life could have taken a completely different path if he had had more time to dedicate to mixed martial arts.

Nicknamed ‘Lights Out’ for knocking four people unconscious during a fight in his sophomore year of high school, Merriman had the perfect mindset to jump into martial arts.

He finally fell in love with the UFC in 2005 when he went to Las Vegas to see Randy Couture vs Chuck Liddell.

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Feeling so inspired, he began training himself with the intention of competing if TV work didn’t get in the way.

But with a love for the craft he just couldn’t kick, the icon founded Lights Out Xtreme Fighting. with his next event, LXF 21, scheduled to take place tonight at Thunder Studios in Long Beach, California, USA.

The card features a number of epic collisions, including a guaranteed barn burner between Arnold Jimenez and Keenan Lewis.

But as a promoter, Merriman is always looking to push the boundaries and the 40-year-old admits that if he had a magic wand, he would sign two LA Chargers superstars.

In an exclusive interview with Bloody Elbow, he said: “I’m a big fan of Khalil Mack. He’s a guy who’s built differently; he’s explosive. I’d love to convert him to MMA. Derwin James is another one; I starting with the chargers.

“You got some other guys. You saw a massive fight break out in the Jaguars vs Texan game with Azeez Al-Shair with the big hit on Trevor Lawrence.

“You have to believe this. I’ve said it before, and maybe it’s not coming through yet. There’s an up-and-coming ex-NFL athlete — they’re not going to be the guy who played 15 years and made a lot of money ; we have to find the guy who had a three- or four-year career who is upset because he was cut, traded or a bad coaching staff, maybe he didn’t get the opportunities to get on the field that he wanted to – that guy will champion one day I guarantee it.

“I say this because I know the learning curve I had when I started training with a lot of these guys, I was raw and athletic and I could hang with some of the best of them.

“But I didn’t really have time to train consistently because I was working with WWE and doing a lot of TV work with the NFL Network and Fox Sports.

“There’s going to be someone who says, ‘I’ve been released, I’m shocked and I want to kick someone’.

“That’s what’s going to happen because you have a lot of guys who are unhappy but have the physical ability to come over here and dominate. But they have to take it seriously and find the right camp to work with them .

“A former NFL athlete will transition and become a world champion. I guarantee it.”

Shawne Merriman reveals the UFC fighter he is compared to all the time

With an athletic build and a love for fighting, it makes sense that people would compare him to UFC legends.

However, there is one in particular that appears more than most.

He told Bloody Elbow that when he goes overseas, everyone says he looks like a special heavyweight.

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