While most remember Shawne Merriman for his “lights out” defensive play on the gridiron, the former NFL All-Pro linebacker has created a big impact away from the field in his business venture, an upstart MMA organization named after his nickname called Lights Out Xtreme Fighting.
Merriman, who retired from the NFL in March 2013, joined in on other business ventures that included WWE and NASCAR before later launching the Lights Out brand in ’19.
But Merriman quickly learned that navigating the business world was far different executing a defensive gameplan. In an interview on The Bag Podcast with Rashad Jennings and Lindsay McCormick, the three-time Pro Bowler opened up about the parallels and the “big difference” between the daily grind of the NFL running his own business.