October 4, 2023 • 49 mins
In the latest episode of the NFL Players: Second Acts podcast, hosts Peanut and Roman sit down with Shawne Merriman, the 2005 Defensive Rookie of the Year. Shawne shares stories from his NFL days, including a memorable rookie dinner that left him with a $32,000 bill. He also talks about the injuries that eventually led to his retirement and how he found a new passion in MMA and started his own company called Lights Out Xtreme Fighting. And in a fun twist, Peanut challenges Roman to a fight, and Shawne is ready to make it happen!
Time codes:
3:32 - Shawne tells his welcome to the NFL moment
4:43 - Shawne tells story about being stuck with a $32k bill
10:11 - Shawne talking about his dominant first three years in the NFL
11:59 - Shawne talks about playing 2007 with torn knee ligaments
16:15 - Shawne talks about the hit with Kevin Mawae hitting him in the knee that started his knee issues
17:13 - Shawne talks about getting a lot of tests while playing well
19:11 - Shawne on when he knew it was time to retire
23:40 - Shawne on the former player who challenged him to a fight on radio row - Kyle Turley
25:37 - Shawne on how he got into the MMA industry
27:17 - Shawne talks about his MMA league Lights Out Xtreme Fighting
31:02 - Shawne on the lessons he’s learned when starting his own company
32:32 - Shawne on how finding a passion in MMA has helped him in his transition
33:53 - Shawne’s advice for players interested in getting into MMA
38:08 - Shawne talks about how he knocked out 4 players in a high school game
40:18 - Shawne talks about when the Lights Out dance started
44:22 - Shawne shares who is on his personal Mount Rushmore
47:15 - Shawne on who he would want to battle in a cage match
NOTE: Time codes are approximate
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Highs Pro Football Hall of Famerlarroy Butler, and you're listening
to the best podcast, the NFL Players Second Acts Podcast.
Thank you for tuning in to the NFL Player Second
(00:21):
Acts Podcast. I'm Peanut to him in and this is
my guy, Roman Harper. He is the chaplain for the
entire NFL. Welcome to the show, Rome, Thank you, I mean,
I appreciate it. I mean the best thing about this
is that I literally have no idea what he's going
to say, and so every beginning it's like groundhog Day.
(00:41):
We just have no idea what we're going to get.
Thank you for that introduction, Peanut, and we are often
running again on this episode of NFL Players Second Acts Podcast.
First of all, let's get all the things out of
the way. I want to thank all of our listeners
for always tuning in and continue to tell a friend
to tell a friend, to tell a friend. Whatever you
listen or watch your podcast, whether it's iHeartRadio, Apple podcasts,
(01:06):
please continue to do that. Give us a rating five stars,
please and continue to hit that subscribe button. And Peanut,
who we got in today? We got a good one.
This guy twelfth pick two thousand and five draft in
his first three season, he registered thirty nine and a
half thirty nine point five got thirty nine point five sacks,
(01:28):
first seam all pro, played eight years in the league.
Now he has his own MMA. It's called lights Out.
He has his own m a league. It's called lights Out,
Lights out Extreme. I'm sorry, lights on Extreme. Fighting ladies
and gentlemen, can y'all please give a couple of snaps
from my god, Sean Merriman himself.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
It's lights We snapping the day we snapped.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
We never snapped, but okay, we snapping the nud just
for today. I brought that sporadic baby, sporadic. I ain't
take my pills today. I feel like doing this clapping
is a little too violent. You here on the show.
We just gonna snap a little You're gonna snap a
little bit. Well sewn man, Thank you man. The whole
(02:11):
intro like this because I know y'all listening, But hey, Sean,
his neck is huge. This dude hadn't lost no, hey all,
his his neck is like oh, like, I know, y'all
we in l A studios right now, but if you
could see the man's neck, my god, yeah, you know
what a slapping that's you ever. You know, they got
(02:32):
the new thing, the slapping, the slap, the slap. You
look like you could just take one hard slap right
just it wouldn't even phase you. Bro. Yeah, now my
hands behind my back like the rest, I can have
that if I get slapped. I don't want to return something.
I can't take a slap like that. Oh my god,
that's the crazy. What do you think about that? League?
I think it's it's uh, you know, I'm really close
(02:54):
with with Dana and obviously a lot of my a
lot of my fighters going to the UFC. It's entertainment, man, Like,
you know, people make such a big deal about stuff
like that, but I think that most people forget that
they signed up for it, Like they just signed up
for this. It's not like somebody said, hey, you got
to go get slapped today and you ain't got the choice.
Like these guys signed the name on the doted line
to go get slapped. So you know, it's what it is.
(03:17):
It's what it is, Okay, all right. I just couldn't
do it. There's no way. That was so random. But
I just had to know what your opinion was because
I think it's crazy. I mean from the men and
the women. You know, they do have different sizes. It's
it's just crazy, all right. What was your welcome to
the NFL moment? I think for me it was it
(03:38):
was a game against the Cults. We I had like
four or five, like three or four sacks or something
of that game my rookie year. And it was against Peyton, right.
Like I remember Ray Lewis when I was in when
I was in college, I you know, I convinced his
younger brother, key On a Lotti More to come play
running back there at the University of Maryland. And so
I then returned got really close to Ray and I
remember him telling me that you gotta have great games
(03:59):
against great play, like if you want to be mentioned
up to the grace. So, like, you know, I'm seventeen,
eighteen years old. That registered in my head. I'm like,
I gotta go out and get paid many. I gotta
get to I got to get Ben Roethlisberg all these guys,
because that's the only way you're gonna make a name
for yourself. So that was it, man, And I just
remembered all the highlights that was on TV after it
(04:19):
was it was insane and everybody calling me and text me.
I'm like, dude, I had I had one or two
sacks before this. Y'all ain't see that. No, they don't care.
Hey there, you're right abo who it is? Yeah, that
was just welcome to the moment. That was I mean big,
and they're not my thirty two thousand dollars bill that
they stuck me with a rookie dinner. Whoa whoa, whoa
whoa whoa whoa time because I don't really necessarily count
(04:40):
that welcome in. That was like a take time out, Tom,
you gotta tell them about this thirty two thousand dollars bill.
Where did we go? What do we do? How did
we get up to that number? So we went to
a place called Papua Moos Grill in San Diego up
in del Mar and you know, like you're right there
by exactly about the racetrack. And so I'm sitting there,
I'm having a good time. I'm thinking like, okay, cool,
(05:01):
I got to buy some food, you know, buy I don't.
It's not registering. What's what's about to happen? Right, I'm
going there with a smile on my face. I'm happy
about man, I get a chance to take the take
the guys out, and you're the only rookie. I'm the
only rookie. So we had a later round drive pick
Louis Castillo, who really fortunately had to pay a couple
of thousands, but that was it. But I took on
(05:22):
the brunt of that bill. And so I'm sitting there
and they ordering full big Jamal Williams and and Ladany
and and and Antonio Gates and like everybody's had Lorenz
Low Neil. Everybody's having a good time and my guys right,
And so I'm just sitting there and they ordering stuff.
And so they had this bottle to come out that
I never heard of, and so I said, what is this,
(05:43):
lou To thirteen. Yeah, they bought it in store to Yeah. Yeah.
And so I'm sitting there. We have a couple of
shots and drinks. I mean, I loved it. It was one
of the at the time, one of the best tasting
things I've had my life, no doubt. So we we
go through that bottle and Gates look at me and say,
oh man, it was good. I said, just just get
another one, right, So love this rookie, Oh my god,
(06:05):
I don't know you got you got literally you got
to get one, saying I don't know. And so we
go through that bottle and I order a third one. Right,
so all the three of those don't know. Still, I
look over and Drew Brees. Drew has two bottles of
wine to go to go, and so I'm sitting and
getting lit at home. Dude, I'm sitting there, I'm like,
(06:28):
I don't know what wine like. I'm thinking it's one
hundred bucks whatever. Right, So we finish up. Everybody's having
a good time, you know, we said, everybody smiling full,
had drinks. We all ever, So the owner of the
restaurant comes and grabbed me, said, Sean, I need to
see you in the back. I said, up, for what,
Just just bring me the bill so I can go
(06:48):
ahead and take care of the stab and we could
be out. He said, no, I need to really see
you in the back. I said, for what, just b
He said, Sean, deafitly, you want to see me in
the back. Right, So I got up, walked in the back.
We took back there by the kitchen and he hands
me the receipt. Now you ever see the receipts that
from CBS. One thing that dropped that like, oh my god.
(07:09):
So the receipt dropped to my almost my foot, no joke,
it dropped always. And so you know where the bill
is bad. You know where the bill is bad. You
looking like, hey, man, i' order these massed potatoes, right,
that's what you areto I ain't want the bill was
so bad. I was fighting up with sparagains like everything
I'm trying to so I lift I left the uh.
(07:32):
I lift the bottom of the tap up, you know,
I lift it all the way up and at the bottom,
at the bottom, I'm looking, I see thirty two thousand.
I'm counting the digits right something, thinking it's like okay, one.
So there's like and I'm going through the receipt due.
My knees got weak. I thought I was gonna pass out,
(07:53):
right and uh so anyway, I paid the bill. We
was out, and I'm so mad to my my I
called and didn't decline. I would I wanted to decline.
I wanted to try to figure out what to get.
I was. I was. I was hoping they called me, right,
It's like, you know, call me in the restaurant. I said, hey,
this is not me. I didn't know what you know, Yes,
that was gonna be your I never called they went through.
(08:14):
They never called damn black carts, you know, and so
uh yeah that I don't know if you want to
call that though. That's welcome to the Yeah, that's that's
that's whether it is or not is a great story.
That's half. But I didn't you know, I didn't talk
to L T another them by the week. I don't
blame you. He was hot and it was real mad. Yeah,
So do you still drink a little bid today? I
(08:36):
had I'll take that back, I had a I had
a glass of It was the NBA what they just
Summer League, So they had an event in Vegas. I've
seen it after that had PTSD, I've seen the bottom.
They reached out to hand me a shot, no more
(08:57):
seeking to reach out for the bottle man. But it
was good. But I never bought one after that. You
know what the best thing about that happened with me.
I was a second round pick, and I knew that
they start doing those things, and so we had to
take the whole defense out. So I had to take
the whole defense out and my man just the defense.
And so what Charles Grant told me is like, look,
you better show up with about Louis to thirteen or
(09:18):
we're gonna get one there at their place. And he's like,
my honest opinion, you should go to this store in
New Orleans and go get it. It saved me. Yeah. Yeah,
well it was like nine hundred and something at the store. Yes,
and it's like four thousand. Yeah, you know what I'm
saying at the restaurant, it's like four grand. Yeah. So
I got mine for like a little bit over one
(09:40):
thousand and something after the taxis. But yeah, that's a
good thing. Yeah, he looked out, you know what I'm saying. Yeah,
So your first your first three years, I mean killing it.
You made it. You made it look easy. I think
we all know what the well, we all know the
lights out dance, and I mean I was, I mean,
I know we were playing I'm an old three guy,
you came out O five whatever. But I gotta say
(10:02):
I was a fan, Like we sit there and watch
it's like, man, man, he is killing it right now
on third down, fourth down, second down, like he is
just like you were the man and all of the NFL,
and you made it look so easy. Was it really
easy for you. Well, I was fortunate, right because I
got into a really good situation with a really good
(10:23):
coach and WAYE. Phillips. So you know, Wade had this
philosophy like you're going to do what you do great
like eighty percent of the time, and which you're not
great in, you're going to do twenty percent. So I
didn't have to worry about too much coverage, even though
when I dropped it was in flat seeing something. You know,
I didn't have a lot of responsibility. They wanted me
to go, and in fact, I struggled because I held
(10:45):
out of the whole offseason. I didn't show up like
two weeks before the first preseason game. So they hand
me this playbook that was about this stick and it
looked like the Encyclopedia. Right, I'm like, what is this
language y'all just sent me? And so I struggled to
pick up the playbook and they all Phillips, John Pagano,
Greg Manusky, and they all brought me into a room
(11:05):
and wait, they said sit down. I said, all right,
I sat down. They said we want you to do this.
We want you to see ball, go ball. And I said,
I said, coach, what does that what does that mean.
I said, we're gonna line you up to you what's
had to go, and after that, we want you to
go get get the football. That was my playbooks, like
the first three three weeks of the season. That takes
all the thinking out. That was it. And so you know,
(11:27):
slowly I started to pick up on things and I
was able to, you know, swap week side of the
strong side if they shifted or did anything. I was
knowing every side of the defense because I might be coming,
I might be dropping, I might be a Russian whatever
and so but they made it very simple for me.
So I really credit them for, you know, kind of
put me in a position to do what I did
best and not to go get the quarterback. Now tell
(11:49):
me this in two thousand and Sea two thousand and seven,
I gotta know this. I mean, you look like a
tough guy. You really played with like a torn L
c L and pc L like the last five games,
and you still had all those sacks that year. And
I heard you doing another podcast, You're like, you know,
that's probably one thing I wish I would have done
better in my career, was Yah, take some time to rest, Like,
(12:10):
don't just try and rush back because that later on
made me maybe compensate a little bit. The next you know,
had an achilles, right, and so kind of really started
to break down. Your body started breaking down, and you
weren't smart about just backing off of it. Yeah, you know,
I don't have a lot of regrets because every time
I even practiced, so I stepped on the field, I
tried to go as hard as I possibly can. I
never shot away from no contact. I was looking for
(12:32):
contact every time I got an opportunity to. But that's
one thing I wish because maybe the prolonged my career.
And like, you know, some of these guys go get
their jackets and yeah, yeah, yeah, damn that. So it
stung a little bit when the first time. I'm good now,
but when I first retired them, for sure, I mean
especially the way you started, bro, you were it like
yeah yeah. And so you know, I was playing with
(12:54):
on PCL LCL and I was playing so well that
I went to go see three or four in the
country just to figure out if I could keep playing
or not as I was, and they were like, man,
we just saw you have two sacks on this thing,
Like we don't even we don't want to touch you. Yeah,
because it was a big you know, it's one of
those things where you're going to be out nine to
twelve months and no doctor Andrew. I mean I want
(13:16):
to see everybody and Andrew, doctor Andrews. When I seen him,
he was like, he said, Sean, I just I watched
the game like I don't know what you want us
to do. And so that's why I ended up starting
the next season and just playing through it. And then
it was so unstable after that first game. I had
to but if I can take it back over again,
when I got hurt, I would have, or even right
(13:37):
after the season I was going to miss part of
the next season. Got it done because longevity it could
have helped out on some things. Do you think you
were forced into like getting back right now or no, No,
it was me. It was just it was me. It
was me. I think that's so important to the word longevity,
Like when you first get in the league, our mindset,
we just want to get there. Then we want to
make an impact. We don't make usplash. I don't think
(13:57):
we ever really realized like the longevity part of it
is what really separates the great ones from everybody else.
It's like, man, you got to be able to have
a stretch of just impacting and changing the game exactly
what you were doing. But man, if you do that
for ten years versus those eight or eleven years, man
you are right there. But was that you are the
(14:19):
one injured though? You know what I'm saying, Like, I
know you've had some injuries, and well, just I kind
of have a two part question. But speaking of longevity,
high school, college, college league, were you ever injured in
high school? At college? No? Right, that's another thing, and
you don't know that. It's like, yeah, I played I
don't know, four years of college ten games. Will say
(14:41):
forty games in college, and if you go to a
bowl game, we'll say forty five games in college, or
forty games in high school, forty five games in college.
And then you're just playing these games straight and you
don't know what it's like to be injured. So the
first time you get injured, it's kind of like a damn,
what I know, I got to get back out there.
I couldn't fathom it. I couldn't fathom it because I
(15:03):
think that we all walk around like superheroes, all of us,
no matter what stage you're at and then like the
mentality is a superhero, you can't get hurt, or if
you do get hurt, you can just play through the
jump matter. And so look, you can play through you know,
some hamstrings stuff and try to get through whatever. But
I was playing on the injury that could shortened my career,
(15:25):
and so at the time too, we had an opportunity
to win a championship. That year. We went to the
AFC Championship game, which I played in that game with nothing.
I had two sacks against Tom and I'm talking about
when I stopped on the ground, my knee was sliding.
My knee was I can fill it sliding backwards and
fords and I was like, man, this is the year
we're gonna win a ring. So I'm not. I'm not.
(15:46):
I'm not getting a surgeon. If I do, it's going
to be after we get win the super Bowl. That
was my mentality, and we didn't. And so once I
went finally get the surgery, they said, hey, you this
is gonna be an eight month you know, six to
eight month deal minimum, right, So I couldn't. I couldn't
really fathom that part missing that amount of time. And
that's why I continue to play for it. This is
the same thing we did in Carolina my last year
(16:07):
a cl whatever, playing whatever, different story at different time.
Talk to me about the what what game? Do you
specifically remember what play it was when you had some
knee issues in the player or lineman or whatever. Yeah,
I got I got that. I got hit by Kevin
Mwai and another offensive lineman against the Titans and No.
Seven and uh, you know, I never really talk about
(16:31):
it too much as I hate complaining. Yeah, you know,
I got, I got hit. You know, if you people
watched the game, watch the film that was twenty yards
away from the play, you know, so you can kind
of figure out, Hey, we keep receipts around here, dog,
especially as defenders, we keep receiving. Yeah, so you know,
it is what it is. I talked to Kevin why
about it. We straightened it out, and you know, but
(16:52):
to your point, we talked about longevity. You know that
even that game alone, before I got hurt, I had
three four SiZ that was like in the first half.
You know, I like two or three in the first half,
and so you know, they trying to.
Speaker 2 (17:03):
Slow you down by any means necessary.
Speaker 1 (17:06):
They trying to do anything else. They're like, man, you
brought this on yourself. Yeah, you know what I'm saying.
I do. What I want to know is with all
the sacks and all the success you had, how many
times did they pissed test you? Oh, the last three
years a lot. Twenty times. I actually got suspended in
two thousand and six, and before then I was I
was pissed test twenty times in my first year. That
(17:29):
does happen. I want everybody to know that you go
out there and have a great game on the prime time,
but you will get pizza. You will get pissed tests.
Oh yeah, within the next twenty four hours. That happens too.
I mean, so I filled my twentieth one, but I
passed the nineteen. I said, listen, y'all give me some credit.
But I passed. Came up one slide, but you know, yeah,
(17:53):
it's for sure. You know. And guys now, because social
media wasn't a big back, yeah, of course. So you
see some of these guys now, like I think Aaron
Donald had a big game and he posted, oh jj
wall if one of the guys, Yeah, who posted is
his pist test? The next day? Yeah, when he had
a big game. They ain't ain't no random about that, Like, yeah, yeah,
we got it, got it? Mine was anytime after I
(18:16):
hit thirty and I had a good game, I got
pissed test after the game. It was like clockwork. I
got an email three years ago to take a pissed test,
I swear, and I tweeted about it. I showed the emails, like,
you guys realize I've been retired for about three plus
maybe four years now, y'all still want me to take
a p test? Like that's just yeah, they got They're
gonna find you that I ain't been in the league
(18:39):
in four years. They called me one time. It was
my birthday weekend. I was in Vegas and I woke
up to a call him. I'm hungover, I'm rolling around
it pay dude who was calling me? And I noticed
the NFL you know, random number, And I'm like, oh,
this got it? I asked the phone, said dude, you
ain't gona getting up with the kill out of me.
(19:00):
Trust that's all y'all getting from me. But it came up.
But they'll come out. It's part of it, all right.
So all that happened, the injuries, all these other things
now you're like, Okay, at what point in time do
you know it's time to retire? Because we all know
at some point, but I think that I think that
(19:20):
we're the last ones to know. You're probably right about that,
you know what I'm saying, Like I think that you're
in now, You're in the now. You don't because what
makes us great and put us on that platform, it's
not just because of our physical capabilities, because how we
think and with our mindset, how we set our mindset
to go and do stuff, and so our mind is
still my mind is telling me, I'm I'm the first
(19:42):
three years right body wise, can the explosion? I can
still do all these things. But my body is like, no,
you ain't. And so I started to notice, like my
last year in Buffalo, uh, and I played some of
the guys who I played against in the charges, I
would normally these guys like I would just yeah, you
know with And so I didn't have like that that
(20:05):
burst off the line of scrimmage or being able to
turn the corner because my my achilles wasn't you know
and Achilles, man, it is the absolute worst injury. I
mean I heard it in my in my in my opinion.
It's the absolute worst. And I have my knee. I
fully reconstruct the knee. I came back from that. I
was fine. Actually from the knee. The achilles is the
one that stopped me from the get off, from the
(20:27):
kind of scrimmage. I lost that. And then when I
when I lost that, I became like an average above
average guy. Wasn't like great, and I wasn't explosive anymore.
And so I was watching film and I said, man,
that's just gotta be it, you know what I mean,
Like I was like because you know, it was the
same guy who I played against a couple of years back,
(20:48):
about four years before then. And I mean I was
dog and this guy couldn't block me and he was
blocking me, and man, I couldn't do nothing. He was
grabbing me up and I couldn't get off the block
and I couldn't get around him. I couldn't retrace the football.
I said, there, that's about it. And so what did
that do to your ego? Watching that? Mentally? Yeah, well
(21:09):
that's what. So that's for me personally, that's what pushed me,
pushed me into retirement, right, because you know I played
with a level of confidence. You know what I'm gonna
I'm gonna get off of every game. I'm to have
a big play or have a big sack, or do
something to change the games. And even at the end
of my career, I would have flashes to being able
to do it, but I couldn't do it consistently, you know.
So I'll pop up in the first quarter somewhere that
(21:30):
I disappear half the second quarter, and I pop up
again in the second half and make a big play.
When it's like every time I got off the ball,
you have to worry about me every single time. And
then I got to the point where it was just
flashes of it, and so mentally it started to beat
me up more than physically. I could have went back
and played. I could have just you know, hoppled around me.
I could have stolen a couple of years. I could
(21:51):
sold a couple of years. But I said, man, if
I can't do what I did before, why am I here.
I couldn't mentally grasp that to my by watching me
on the film and knowing that I wasn't I'm not
what I was. We're gonna take a short break and
we'll be right back. So my guy room went to
(22:11):
radio row this last pass super Bowl and just he
fell in love with it, had an awesome time. He
couldn't believe it was like, oh man, this is right here,
roll like this. It was my first it was his
first time. Like he was just eyes wide open, like
he was in Vegas for the first time. Now, I
know you went there and there was some type of
off There was an offensive line and this is before mma,
(22:33):
we'll get into that, but there was an offensive lineman
who challenged you to a fight. Yeah, who was that?
And like, let's let's let's dive in it out a
little bit. How does that? How does that story go?
Everybody said he want to fight? Man, you know, I
mean like you know, I mean, look at this, dude. No,
but but you know, okay, so this is my thing, right,
(22:56):
I'm in to fight business in general. And so Yeah.
The reason why I love it because it reminds me
a lot of the locker room, like the back and forth,
like like even if guys don't fight, it's just a
constant what's up, what's up? Hey? What you know? It's
just that yeah, back and forth. And to me, the energy,
I love that energy. I love around it because it
keeps me. I'm laughing. I'm you know, I just stay
(23:19):
young with the rest of the guys. And so, you know,
I'm going to spar pros. I sparred you know, cruiseweight
champion last week, and I'm in there and now we're
not going at it trying to knock your heads off
and knock the other out. But it's a lot of
good work. And so when you see, you know, a
guy you know, and I'll tell you who that guy is.
It was calch Early, Okay, you know that. I guess
(23:40):
he came up to my one of my publicists and
he was like, you know, I wanted to fight. He
wanted to fight, right, And so I'm like, okay, cool,
who's he wanted to fight? Man? You know cause I'm
I'm already in mass making mode. I'm I'm like, man,
I can match this guy up against him. And I'm
right because I'm already thinking about it. And You're like, yeah, Sean,
(24:03):
you know that the coment frogged me when it's kind
of looking So I was like, what, you know, you know,
that's not something that's smart for you. I don't think
you want to do that. Yeah, But there I'm open
to me. There's a couple of w W guys, former
current and former that want to that want to fight.
(24:24):
I told him, come over, I'll senior contract, we'll we'll
work out the details, and we can do it in
lights out of training fighting in my in my league,
we can. I got no problem with that. But I
also think that in the in this, in fighting, in this,
in the business in general, you don't go like, you
can play basketball, you can play football, you know, we
played it, but fighting it's just one of those things
(24:45):
like you can't play, you can't play. You better do
it or you or don't do it right, because if
you're not fully capable mentally, physically and you're ready to
go in there. We've seen some tragedies the Jake, the
YouTuber what's his name, Jake Paul, Jake Paul. When the
basketball Nate Robinson he you don't play boxing, Yeah, look,
(25:08):
it's like, yeah, I'm gon just go find like yeah
he messed around and found out yeah quick. And it's
one of those things. I look, I love being on
the backside of things because we had production, you know,
TV trucks, and I love being on that side of
the business. The promoting the marketing, the putting the fights together.
I love that side of the business, but it also
too that edge of me, that little bit to say
(25:29):
I can I can go with some of these guys nowhere. Yeah,
but unless you're ready to step in there and do
it all the way, man, I just I haven't. I
haven't done it. Now, what led to you trying to
own your I mean there's a lot of ups and
downs with it, but like what led you to owning
or getting into like trying to have your own league. Yeah.
So I started, you know, training on the off season
back in between two thousand and five and two thousand
(25:50):
and six. You know. So I'll go do my off
season workouts whatever, go get so I can get my
what do you call the bonus, the workout bonus. Yeah,
so I go, I'll go get that workout in and
I'll end up going to to train. I was training
in Jay Glaziers Gym. Yeah, yeah, for and I grew
up boxing. My uncles were professional boxer, so I grew
up just naturally boxing. And he's like, man, you can
(26:11):
I don't know you can box? And I said yeah, yeah,
he said, be able to try them in May? He
said no, he said, I think it'll help your hands
and being a better pass rusher I saw on linebackers.
I said, oh cool, I'm down. I'm done text men address.
I go to this address next day in La I
walk in the gym. Jay Glaziers here, Randy Gautore is here,
the great Yeah. So I'm looking at Jay. I'm like, yo, what,
(26:33):
I ain't fighting Randy, and I hope you know that
that's not you know. He said, no, no, no, we're gonna
We're gonna work right show you how to use your
pumble grapple. Yeah, use your hands, leverage and all this stuff, man.
And that was It was humbling for me that day
because I'm fifty sixty pounds bigger than Randy. I'm stronger
than he as a more athletic, and yet he's sitting
there tossing me around and I can't figure it out.
(26:54):
And so I knew that there was something about this
sport that was going to help me in the field.
And that's why I came out in two thousand and
six and I laid the NFL and sacks. I started
using my hands and being able to bend the corner. Yeah,
big time. I wasn't high anymore. I mean, I'm opening
up and turning around those big tackles. And that's when
I knew it was something about this sport that was
going to help me in football. And so fast forward,
(27:16):
I started doing every single year and I ended up
launching Lights Out Extreme Fighting back in twenty nineteen, and
we're on Football, Football TV, Football Sports. Yeah, and so
we just we just crossed over to the top ten
most watched all time. Our last fight we had in May,
we just crossed into the top ten most watched. And congrats,
appreciate it. All right, man, we'll talk about Well, let's
(27:38):
let's stay on that topic. Where do you guys fight at?
Because I want to continue to promote this. I think
it's awesome that you have gotten into this. I'm a
big MMA fan. I don't have football sports, so I'm
not able to watch it all the time. But where
do you guys have your fights at? How often do
you have them? And just kind of let's talk about it.
What makes your league until also what makes your league
(28:00):
different than the other leagues. Yeah, we we have the
next up and coming superstars, right, that's the difference. Yeah,
that's like UFC got me into the sport like they're
branding their storytelling, they're building their fighters. And so I've
been around my first UFC fighters in two thousand and
I've been over thirty five fights over the last you
know how many years, and so I got a chance
(28:20):
to see that from a distance. But we also played NFL.
Where's the biggest production, it's the biggest storytelling, it's the
biggest pathway to getting it out there, because nobody's really
done it bigger than the NFL, especially here in this country.
So we come from that. So that's what I'm used
to being a part of. And so fast forward, you know,
us launching the fights. We're doing a fight every six weeks,
(28:41):
so we'll go Saturday to we're October seventh, and we're
at the end of November Long Beach, and a lot
of these fighters in California in general, there's a ton
of fighters that just don't get an opportunity to coming up,
Like we have amateurs. We're gonna be showing amateurs live.
Nobody's doing that, showing amateur fighters because these guys are
going to end up turning pro with us, you know
some of them. Yeah, I'm sure we end up turning
(29:02):
pro with us, and so we're we're kind of bringing
these guys all the way through and we're kind of
creating loyalty with them and kind of get behind them,
promoting them and giving them a shot because when it
comes time to turn proudem like, man, those guys put
me on TV like they you know, they took care
of me until a lot of these guys are end
up turning pro. But we want the young Connor McGregor's,
We want the young Rond de rousis a man in
(29:23):
New Nest. We always looking for them. And then when
we can't, you know, facilitate the partnership with like the
deal anymore, like have them there because either we can't
pay them or they want another opportunity. I tell them
I've dropped the Danny White myself up to the facility.
You know, we don't we don't mind that. I saw
a picture of O'Malley who just won the belt for
the for the UFC in like twenty thirteen. This dude
(29:45):
like like just like skinny regular curly here yeh yeah yeah,
And now you see them, it's like, yeah, but that's
what you're talking about. You want to get those early
guys and then we want to continue to promote you
come on here, let you fight in front of the
body with your on TV, and then you're going to
pretendue to progress. So you guys aren't enemies with UFC. No, no,
(30:06):
not at all. And then you know USC is so
big man, they're not you know, they're not worried about
anybody else. And so what you can hope to do is,
you know, we got a lot of tech coming right,
fan engagement, tech, teching and gloves oh yeah, yeah, yeah,
different cameras. So we've become more of a incubator for
AI and tech and like we can do some really
cool and fun stuff that I just UFC they can't
(30:27):
do it too big. You know, they got too many
loyal fans. And we're just kind of getting off the
ground to the point where, yeah, we're our viewership is
great and people know about us. But we can start
implementing a lot of these things without messing things up
too much. We I mean, not this fight. This fight
will have the drone cameras and stuff we're trying out
because it's outside. We had the area of view. I
mean to see the top of the top of it.
(30:50):
Nobody's done that yeah, so we that's gonna be cool innovative.
I like it, very innovative. And then after that, we're
starting to implement some of this other fan engagement tech
and AI that we got coming. Yeah. So, I know
when I played, one of the biggest things that I
would try to do is lessons learned. Right when I
think I became the player I was because I really
focused on my failures when we lose a game or
(31:11):
I'd have a terrible game, and I would look at
the film, take my notes and try to figure out,
like what could I do to become better. Now, you
starting out as an entrepreneur, you got your own league,
what have been some of the lessons learned for you
thus far? That is chaotic? You know, it's it's you
have to almost be able to operate in chaos. And
it's for because you know, this week we had a guy,
(31:33):
uh get went down accent on hit butt in practice,
like one of our top guys. He sold two hundred tickets.
And so when you have something like that, now you're like, Okay, well,
how do we feel. Yeah, a good really good fighter,
up and coming guy that sold two on the tickets,
and how do you replace that? And figure that out.
Now you got to work with the commission to make
sure that they're medical. The new guy medicals are pushed
(31:54):
your last minute replacements. Find a guy who's ready in
four to eight or you know, four or five days. Right.
So although those things and also you have you know,
Fouboa like, my team is constantly in communication with them
on production engineering and you know, satellite feeds and secondary
satellite feeds, you name it. It's it's a non lot.
It's yeah, it's a NonStop thing, man. But I honestly,
(32:15):
I wouldn't rather do anything else. Okay, I was literally
gonna ask you, like, I mean, all this sounds hectic,
but but this is what you want. I wouldn't honestly,
I wouldn't want to do nothing else, you know. For me,
it's it's it's very hard to replace that filling and
run out the tunnel seventy thousand plus. It's very few
(32:36):
things in this lifetime can they can do that, or
big hit or pick or punching the dam ball out,
you know, just it's a turnover play to just put
you guys in a different you know. So it's very
few things in this world that can do that. And
That's why a lot of guys struggle when you're done,
because that you know, getting home to those text messages
and people calling you and everybody you know, just it's
(32:57):
very hard to replace that feeling. It. I found something
to replace that, and that's saying a lot because that
same passion to have you going to do this over here,
right that big player whatever it is, like I'm this
is it for me? Like I don't I don't want
to do anything else, and to bring a lot of
these guys along, up and coming guys. We got former athletes,
(33:19):
NFL guys or guys that didn't play that long maybe
four five years and still ready to go. We're transitioning
to these guys right now, we're going to be announcing
some really big signings here. People come and fight for us.
They played in the league, this didn't have that long
career that you know a lot of guys did well.
That was gonna be My next question was You've been
a really good outlet for that that realm where a
(33:41):
lot of the former players or athletes, whether it's football
or other sports that are very interested in mixed martial
arts that hey, you can come here and be a
part of it. Well, are you helping those guys train
for it? How is that transition going? And what kind
of advice would you give anybody who's interested into it?
Because you, like you said, it's more coming down the pipeline,
it's not. This is just beginning. This isn't something out
(34:01):
of the ordinary or something just a fad. Yeah, and
you're you're right, that's gonna happen a lot. You see,
Le'Veon Bell and Adrian Peterson took a fight. Greg Hardy
had a short stint and left c Frank Gore, you know, like,
this guy is coming and Ojoe Sinko box du didn't
he did and he looked good too. Yeah, we're gonna
do it, and so hold lights out. We on his
(34:24):
were fighting. Who we fight? We fighting each other on
light time? How much you wait? I'm too old, said
I'm too ten, He too o five. Let's get it.
I'm not two o five and I'm not fighting. But
we just talked about that, Tom. How much I'm not
play fighting? This is not it. How much you weigh
to me, I'm probably like one ninety eight two. I'll
(34:45):
get the two o five. You have a five, y'all
can do that dude, you don't play fight like you
just said this. This is what we just talked to.
We can't experiences, believe that's why to make it a
great fight. You gott you got to you know, see
sea level guys just fighting. Oh my gosh, this is
I think that people want to see it. I think
(35:05):
that people want to see it too. Bro. Let's go.
Let's I'm trying to backpaddle the of this so fast.
How much time? How much time do you need? Give
me six weeks. I'm ready, coach wen, we're gonna be
in the October throw down? What seven?
Speaker 2 (35:23):
You could be ready for that October seventh?
Speaker 1 (35:25):
Let's do it. I think I got work that day.
We was just talking about that. This is Saturday too,
so you're working on the weekend. I do work on Saturdays. Good,
all righty ga make it. We can do it on
a Sunday. I can move it. Were talking to the
man himself, Oh my god, we can do this. Look
at my tin, bro, I can't take a punch. My
tin is not why you see he look at his neck?
(35:47):
My next decent. We got six weeks to get got
every like, dude, how do you do that? Like? How
do you get better at taking the punch. Can you
do that? Now? The whole goal is not too so
I'm all already looking at the wrongs that's to come
and listen. I don't want to get h in the
(36:09):
face and say, yeah, that's the whole point. You want
to avoid hitting the face, that's part of it. You
got me crying. I know, I know what's been one
of the worst punches knockouts you've ever seen.
Speaker 2 (36:23):
You were just like, oh my god, you got.
Speaker 1 (36:25):
You know the reference from Friday you got a m
M A in the name your league.
Speaker 2 (36:31):
Yes, sir, talking all lights.
Speaker 1 (36:33):
Out in my league. It was actually amateur amateur kid
came through you, Ryan Shazaar. Okay, yeah, So we we've
had some guys, man, some knockouts and and obviously you
know that's I love it. I was like, isn't that
the best part about it? Well, you want everybody to
be be safe. It's the same thing, man, Like we
(36:56):
we all love like death shots and big knockouts and
stuff like that, but also too, like, because I'm behind
the scenes and better around sports all that really technical
stuff too. Why I'm looking like, man, that dude scale
like his ground game, the way he get up his
takedown defense. I'm looking at everything you know and just
guys how they keep the composure. But I think at
the end of the day, we all love a good knockout.
(37:17):
Oh for sure, you've never done any boxing, no grappling, No, no,
I have. My son does jiu jitsu, so he does.
I tell look, I try. My son does it, and
he loves it. I just learned watching him and listening
to his coach. So I tell everybody it's especially former guys.
Man like, Okay, if you don't want to fight, no problem.
But what I do think that everybody should do, and
(37:38):
you see to a just start picking up jiudittionals. I
think that every former athlete should pick up some form
of combat sports. I don't thin if you're just boxing,
jiu jitsu, grappling, whatever it is. Pick something up, man,
because it does something for you. And whether you're going
to fight or not didn't matter. But I just think
in the head space mentally, the state disciplining state competing
(37:59):
in something, then yeah, it does allow for you.
Speaker 2 (38:03):
So the name lights out.
Speaker 1 (38:05):
Now. I did a little bit of research and they
say you knocked out full people in one game in
high school three in the first half, three in the
first half, one in the second half, one in the
second half. That's basic math for you. Three plus one
is fox not for but foe? Now, how walk me
through that? Like?
Speaker 2 (38:24):
Was you mad?
Speaker 1 (38:24):
Was you? Would you?
Speaker 2 (38:25):
Like Ladimer the program which you just like oh, like
were they little?
Speaker 1 (38:31):
Were they big? Were you know? Like you have some
context if you ever had those games you feel like you, uh,
you're like in the zone that you just kind of
blank out, like it's just a blur. Everything you're doing
is right.
Speaker 2 (38:43):
No, I remember, it wasn't a blur. Its just I remember.
Speaker 1 (38:46):
It's just like you can start like you feel I
just start trying, I do I do? When and everything worked? Yeah?
And everything worked? I mean I had I had a
game like that in the pros. We played out of
Raiders on Monday Night football, I like four or five,
Like I felt like I could have won for seven
sacks and kept me I din't play the fourth quarter.
It was one of those times where I felt like
I could have got seven eight sacks. They kept me
(39:07):
in the game. It was like that. In high school,
it was like anybody to come here is getting blown up.
Like that was like everybody that's coming my way is
getting blown up, and they did and some mad mamas.
So the next the next game we had, we had
a you can't you can't tell about next game, So
tell me the play. Who got dropped? All play? The
(39:30):
full back? You know, I broke So everybody go to
knockdown and go to sleep. But if they got up
and then return in the game, we counted that as yea,
the full back broken collar bone and he went off.
He was done. Offensive line, we would get the on
side kick. He was done. Quarterback on the sweep, he
was done. And I think it was a running back
who caught the ball out the backfield. And so you know,
(39:53):
at that at that the men amongst boys, you know,
but when this happens, right, this is pre social media.
And so what happened. And after that game, I had
about twenty students come run under me and said, man,
you knock you knock these guys lights out? And I
was like, yeah, you know, call me lights out. I didn't.
I didn't expect for it to happen, you know, like
(40:13):
I just yeah, I was like, yeah, yeah, you know,
call me, call me lights out. So that right, so
high school, Yeah, so with my software in high school.
This is pre social media. So I got to class.
I got my book bag on Monday, and I carried
my books around and people walking around They're like, yoh,
what's up? Lights like? And I was like, ooh, you
(40:34):
know like that. So I went home and I rushed home.
I went to knock my mom my mom door. She
was home, she was home from work already, and she
was smoking. She smoked cigarettes. And I'm walking in the
room like I'm doing that, and I said, ma, we
we uh. We got to get this lights out tattoo
on my right forearm. And so cause I had one
(40:54):
of my one of my boys to draw it up.
And I was like, I want the lights out tattoo
on my forearm with the hand just what I got now,
And she said, boy, get the hell out of the room,
right She told me to get out. And so every day,
every day for two weeks, I was like, I'm hounding
there every day. And then finally that that at the
end of the two weeks, he said, all right, come on,
leave me alone. Let's go. You know we're gonna leave him.
(41:14):
She took me get this tattoo, and so that's where
the lights out thing happened. We had a game on
the ESPN, my freshman of the University Mayland playing Georgia Tech. Yeah,
wide receiver Watkins. It was on the hits on YouTube. Watkins.
I just got I wouldn't started and I was dropping
into the flats. It was a crossing pattern and I
came in hit him, knocking me. His back went immediately
(41:37):
to the ground. Yeah, and I got up and I
and I did that and I didn't jump at first, right,
It's just that and the crowd got loud, and that's
when I did that. Yeah. So my coach, Rolph Friedan,
who's head coach at the time, he came over and said,
if you ever do that again, you'll never play. That's
what he told me. Celebrate, celebrate, and so uh my heads,
(41:59):
I'm like cut down here, down, like, oh d I
can you know? I went from here to here in
two seconds. But I got walked down the sideline and
my coaches and the play hear me say yo, what
was that? And I was like that was lights out
dance and it off. That was it. Oh, So that's
how that happened. I'm amazed that you so, because I
(42:21):
didn't know about the lights out until you were in
the league. I thought it was you did it when
you was in the league that I thought. Your first
second was.
Speaker 2 (42:28):
Like I was like, oh, that's that's pretty cool.
Speaker 1 (42:30):
Like no, I didn't know. I just think it's school.
It's brilliant because the marketing was there, the passion was there,
and this was before anybody else was thinking about this.
But bro, you were onto it. Lights Out, Like that's
how we all know you, and we all saw you
with the switch on your arm. I mean, eventually you're
in the league, they can they can shine in on
your tats. Yeah, we can finally see it. I like
(42:52):
that brand building in high school. Yeah, on top of it.
I was wondering because that was gonna be My next
one was like, did you go by lights out or
lights and college? Yeah? I mean still and in fact,
so your homies call you light Yeah, lights okay, yeah.
Speaker 2 (43:06):
Light skinned.
Speaker 1 (43:12):
Look Thomas looking at me like really do really? He
look he hated. I'm not hating right now. So that's
that's why they that's why I got a problem, No problem.
Speaker 2 (43:24):
No problem, but I don't want no smoke.
Speaker 1 (43:28):
And so you know what ended up happening was my
second at the end of my first year. We got
I got some money when I was in the league,
and I ended up buying the name in trademarks smart.
So it's a company called PJ. Salvage, what a big
pajama company. And Revine and my friend who was a
trademark attorney, we reached out to them and I ended
up acquiring all the trademarks and everything for light Time.
(43:50):
And that's how you're able to do lights out, extreme
fighting everything else. Man, that's with peanut punch, but Hershey
owns it. I couldn't couldn't get it. They don't need
your money, No, do not need your I I tried it.
I tried it. So look, man, you've great NFL career, college,
high school, You're doing your thing and uh in the
(44:13):
in the in the lights out of this mma with
your own league. Life's about journey. And we got guides
and they help us who have been the mentors in
your life. If you had your own personal Mount Rushmore
with four people who would be on it. It was
first of all my high school coaches. They took us,
they took me in. We lost, we lost our homes
(44:34):
and I was homeless for a while when we were
growing up as a kid and again in high school,
and so my my coaches and my dad wasn't around
like that, even though we got I got a good
relationship with my dad. Now my dad would around my
high school coaches kind of took that step to have
that kind of figure. And then for me, man, it
was like, you know, I got really cult to like
(44:56):
Diddy and Puff and you know, like a lot of
people who were smoke and so I got a chance
to spend time around them, like days, months, weeks, all
that stuff and spending time with them. So I started
to learn a lot faster than most people because I
can pick up the phone and call him and that
that that to me was invaluable to be able to
(45:16):
pick up the phone and call people like that. You know,
a good friend of mine, Stephen Jonah, who put me
onto the clothing space and showed me licensing. You know.
Donald Donald Trump was another one who took me under
my when out early on in my career. I spent
a lot of time with him on the business side,
(45:36):
you know kind of mean he did, man, I was
spend a lot of time with him in his office
and hanging around him and flying places with him, and
he would go in and have his licensing department, and
all these people like, hey, whatever Sean wants, make sure
we get it. Nobody's better at branding than him. Yeah,
and I learned a lot of that from from him,
just the branding of the hotel, licensing of the hotels,
and so yeah, he was a big influence. You know,
(46:01):
go to Diddy the Trump right, I mean you do.
You're rolling some high class I'm not lying. I mean
I think romans the most. I think you endeavor the
two celebris. I know, I appreciate it. Well, now you
know three because I know lights out pretty big time.
And so I was I was fortunate man because uh,
either at a really good circle of people, very successful
(46:22):
girl friend of mine, Ted Wait who on sol Gateway computer?
Jeff Hoff and who who who started? Uh? I think
the Price line or pceline. Uh? And so these you
have really met moguls, bro like being around them, you
can pick up talk to them and their ideas and questions. Yeah,
(46:43):
I think that's invaluable. And then uh, you know, like
I said, when you calling people like that pick up,
it means a lot. So well, I'm getting your number
after this because I might have to bounce an idea
or a question off you. So you're gonna You're gonna
be on my Mount Rushmore on my mogul you you
you are mogul now, so we're gonna be You're gonn
ask me? I got one more question before we get
out here. We usually end on the Mount Rushmore question,
(47:05):
but I got to know this is that is there
any former current player who Sean lights out Merriman would
love to go in the ring against. I mean, if
Kyle Turley wanted. I'm just there's there's some there's some
(47:31):
guys I think I just for me man, being on
this side of the business, I stay out of calling
people out because I think that's what the fighters and
promoter fights. Yeah, and the contracts that I did, you know,
send out. Like Adam Hunter, who's a comedian for the
UFC and does a lot of stuff for the UFC,
he asked me the other day about three weeks ago
(47:51):
about me fighting Shot, right, He's like, hey, would you
fight Shock? And I'm like, yeah, of course, why wouldn't I?
And so I'm I'm the type that if somebody's really serious,
then I'll make it happen. If they're really serious, but
I'm the one that I was in the contracts out
behind closed doors. I ain't going to the media. I'm
not the body. I'm gonna see if they really really
want to do this, and they gonna get a contract
for me. I'm gonna say, what's your price, and let's
(48:13):
let's and what it's going to take for you to
do it, and then I'll start to work that. And
I was in a contract guy, but I don't getting
up no responses, you know. So like some of these
guys will will do that and disappear and like be
on social media or somewhere and they're talking about it.
I'm like Bobby Lashley from the WW you know, he's
another one that wants to fight. I'm like, Okay, where
(48:35):
do I s in the contract? You know? How can
we get this done? So my answer to that is
anybody who wanted I guess. I mean, I don't really
have a Are you doing the lights out there? If
you drop one, no question, you got to, you got to.
I ain't seen it. I love to see it. I
ain't seen it in a minute. So yeah, I'm looking
forward to seeing it hopefully one day, one day, real soon,
(48:56):
and then you can we'll talk offline and and figure
out what we can send that contract for me in
Rome for our fight when Sunday, Yeah, right after church,
right after church, so we can get it in. We
could get it in. I only hanging. He left me hanging.
I got you.
Speaker 2 (49:11):
I appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (49:13):
All right, Hey, y'all, And that's the show man.
Speaker 2 (49:15):
I'm yeah, that was im speechless.
Speaker 1 (49:19):
All right, you know what. All right, we're out of here.
Thank you for all of our listeners wherever you pick
us up at Sean Merriman, you've been a blessing man.
Thank you for thanks spending time with us, man, encouraging
us and really entertaining all of our listeners. And this
was a good one. This was really good man. Anywhere
you listen to it, man, keep listening, man, Tell a
friend to tell a friend to tell a friend. Whether
(49:40):
you listen at Apple Podcast or iHeart man, this has
been a blessing man. This has been awesome. Thank you, La,
thank you, NFL Studios, NFL Player, second X Podcast. We're
out of here. Peace,
Highs Pro Football Hall of Famerlarroy Butler, and you're listening
to the best podcast, the NFL Players Second Acts Podcast.
Thank you for tuning in to the NFL Player Second
(00:21):
Acts Podcast. I'm Peanut to him in and this is
my guy, Roman Harper. He is the chaplain for the
entire NFL. Welcome to the show, Rome, Thank you, I mean,
I appreciate it. I mean the best thing about this
is that I literally have no idea what he's going
to say, and so every beginning it's like groundhog Day.
(00:41):
We just have no idea what we're going to get.
Thank you for that introduction, Peanut, and we are often
running again on this episode of NFL Players Second Acts Podcast.
First of all, let's get all the things out of
the way. I want to thank all of our listeners
for always tuning in and continue to tell a friend
to tell a friend, to tell a friend. Whatever you
listen or watch your podcast, whether it's iHeartRadio, Apple podcasts,
(01:06):
please continue to do that. Give us a rating five stars,
please and continue to hit that subscribe button. And Peanut,
who we got in today? We got a good one.
This guy twelfth pick two thousand and five draft in
his first three season, he registered thirty nine and a
half thirty nine point five got thirty nine point five sacks,
(01:28):
first seam all pro, played eight years in the league.
Now he has his own MMA. It's called lights Out.
He has his own m a league. It's called lights Out,
Lights out Extreme. I'm sorry, lights on Extreme. Fighting ladies
and gentlemen, can y'all please give a couple of snaps
from my god, Sean Merriman himself.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
It's lights We snapping the day we snapped.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
We never snapped, but okay, we snapping the nud just
for today. I brought that sporadic baby, sporadic. I ain't
take my pills today. I feel like doing this clapping
is a little too violent. You here on the show.
We just gonna snap a little You're gonna snap a
little bit. Well sewn man, Thank you man. The whole
(02:11):
intro like this because I know y'all listening, But hey, Sean,
his neck is huge. This dude hadn't lost no, hey all,
his his neck is like oh, like, I know, y'all
we in l A studios right now, but if you
could see the man's neck, my god, yeah, you know
what a slapping that's you ever. You know, they got
(02:32):
the new thing, the slapping, the slap, the slap. You
look like you could just take one hard slap right
just it wouldn't even phase you. Bro. Yeah, now my
hands behind my back like the rest, I can have
that if I get slapped. I don't want to return something.
I can't take a slap like that. Oh my god,
that's the crazy. What do you think about that? League?
I think it's it's uh, you know, I'm really close
(02:54):
with with Dana and obviously a lot of my a
lot of my fighters going to the UFC. It's entertainment, man, Like,
you know, people make such a big deal about stuff
like that, but I think that most people forget that
they signed up for it, Like they just signed up
for this. It's not like somebody said, hey, you got
to go get slapped today and you ain't got the choice.
Like these guys signed the name on the doted line
to go get slapped. So you know, it's what it is.
(03:17):
It's what it is, Okay, all right. I just couldn't
do it. There's no way. That was so random. But
I just had to know what your opinion was because
I think it's crazy. I mean from the men and
the women. You know, they do have different sizes. It's
it's just crazy, all right. What was your welcome to
the NFL moment? I think for me it was it
(03:38):
was a game against the Cults. We I had like
four or five, like three or four sacks or something
of that game my rookie year. And it was against Peyton, right.
Like I remember Ray Lewis when I was in when
I was in college, I you know, I convinced his
younger brother, key On a Lotti More to come play
running back there at the University of Maryland. And so
I then returned got really close to Ray and I
remember him telling me that you gotta have great games
(03:59):
against great play, like if you want to be mentioned
up to the grace. So, like, you know, I'm seventeen,
eighteen years old. That registered in my head. I'm like,
I gotta go out and get paid many. I gotta
get to I got to get Ben Roethlisberg all these guys,
because that's the only way you're gonna make a name
for yourself. So that was it, man, And I just
remembered all the highlights that was on TV after it
(04:19):
was it was insane and everybody calling me and text me.
I'm like, dude, I had I had one or two
sacks before this. Y'all ain't see that. No, they don't care.
Hey there, you're right abo who it is? Yeah, that
was just welcome to the moment. That was I mean big,
and they're not my thirty two thousand dollars bill that
they stuck me with a rookie dinner. Whoa whoa, whoa
whoa whoa whoa time because I don't really necessarily count
(04:40):
that welcome in. That was like a take time out, Tom,
you gotta tell them about this thirty two thousand dollars bill.
Where did we go? What do we do? How did
we get up to that number? So we went to
a place called Papua Moos Grill in San Diego up
in del Mar and you know, like you're right there
by exactly about the racetrack. And so I'm sitting there,
I'm having a good time. I'm thinking like, okay, cool,
(05:01):
I got to buy some food, you know, buy I don't.
It's not registering. What's what's about to happen? Right, I'm
going there with a smile on my face. I'm happy
about man, I get a chance to take the take
the guys out, and you're the only rookie. I'm the
only rookie. So we had a later round drive pick
Louis Castillo, who really fortunately had to pay a couple
of thousands, but that was it. But I took on
(05:22):
the brunt of that bill. And so I'm sitting there
and they ordering full big Jamal Williams and and Ladany
and and and Antonio Gates and like everybody's had Lorenz
Low Neil. Everybody's having a good time and my guys right,
And so I'm just sitting there and they ordering stuff.
And so they had this bottle to come out that
I never heard of, and so I said, what is this,
(05:43):
lou To thirteen. Yeah, they bought it in store to Yeah. Yeah.
And so I'm sitting there. We have a couple of
shots and drinks. I mean, I loved it. It was one
of the at the time, one of the best tasting
things I've had my life, no doubt. So we we
go through that bottle and Gates look at me and say,
oh man, it was good. I said, just just get
another one, right, So love this rookie, Oh my god,
(06:05):
I don't know you got you got literally you got
to get one, saying I don't know. And so we
go through that bottle and I order a third one. Right,
so all the three of those don't know. Still, I
look over and Drew Brees. Drew has two bottles of
wine to go to go, and so I'm sitting and
getting lit at home. Dude, I'm sitting there, I'm like,
(06:28):
I don't know what wine like. I'm thinking it's one
hundred bucks whatever. Right, So we finish up. Everybody's having
a good time, you know, we said, everybody smiling full,
had drinks. We all ever, So the owner of the
restaurant comes and grabbed me, said, Sean, I need to
see you in the back. I said, up, for what,
Just just bring me the bill so I can go
(06:48):
ahead and take care of the stab and we could
be out. He said, no, I need to really see
you in the back. I said, for what, just b
He said, Sean, deafitly, you want to see me in
the back. Right, So I got up, walked in the back.
We took back there by the kitchen and he hands
me the receipt. Now you ever see the receipts that
from CBS. One thing that dropped that like, oh my god.
(07:09):
So the receipt dropped to my almost my foot, no joke,
it dropped always. And so you know where the bill
is bad. You know where the bill is bad. You
looking like, hey, man, i' order these massed potatoes, right,
that's what you areto I ain't want the bill was
so bad. I was fighting up with sparagains like everything
I'm trying to so I lift I left the uh.
(07:32):
I lift the bottom of the tap up, you know,
I lift it all the way up and at the bottom,
at the bottom, I'm looking, I see thirty two thousand.
I'm counting the digits right something, thinking it's like okay, one.
So there's like and I'm going through the receipt due.
My knees got weak. I thought I was gonna pass out,
(07:53):
right and uh so anyway, I paid the bill. We
was out, and I'm so mad to my my I
called and didn't decline. I would I wanted to decline.
I wanted to try to figure out what to get.
I was. I was. I was hoping they called me, right,
It's like, you know, call me in the restaurant. I said, hey,
this is not me. I didn't know what you know, Yes,
that was gonna be your I never called they went through.
(08:14):
They never called damn black carts, you know, and so
uh yeah that I don't know if you want to
call that though. That's welcome to the Yeah, that's that's
that's whether it is or not is a great story.
That's half. But I didn't you know, I didn't talk
to L T another them by the week. I don't
blame you. He was hot and it was real mad. Yeah,
So do you still drink a little bid today? I
(08:36):
had I'll take that back, I had a I had
a glass of It was the NBA what they just
Summer League, So they had an event in Vegas. I've
seen it after that had PTSD, I've seen the bottom.
They reached out to hand me a shot, no more
(08:57):
seeking to reach out for the bottle man. But it
was good. But I never bought one after that. You
know what the best thing about that happened with me.
I was a second round pick, and I knew that
they start doing those things, and so we had to
take the whole defense out. So I had to take
the whole defense out and my man just the defense.
And so what Charles Grant told me is like, look,
you better show up with about Louis to thirteen or
(09:18):
we're gonna get one there at their place. And he's like,
my honest opinion, you should go to this store in
New Orleans and go get it. It saved me. Yeah. Yeah,
well it was like nine hundred and something at the store. Yes,
and it's like four thousand. Yeah, you know what I'm
saying at the restaurant, it's like four grand. Yeah. So
I got mine for like a little bit over one
(09:40):
thousand and something after the taxis. But yeah, that's a
good thing. Yeah, he looked out, you know what I'm saying. Yeah,
So your first your first three years, I mean killing it.
You made it. You made it look easy. I think
we all know what the well, we all know the
lights out dance, and I mean I was, I mean,
I know we were playing I'm an old three guy,
you came out O five whatever. But I gotta say
(10:02):
I was a fan, Like we sit there and watch
it's like, man, man, he is killing it right now
on third down, fourth down, second down, like he is
just like you were the man and all of the NFL,
and you made it look so easy. Was it really
easy for you. Well, I was fortunate, right because I
got into a really good situation with a really good
(10:23):
coach and WAYE. Phillips. So you know, Wade had this
philosophy like you're going to do what you do great
like eighty percent of the time, and which you're not
great in, you're going to do twenty percent. So I
didn't have to worry about too much coverage, even though
when I dropped it was in flat seeing something. You know,
I didn't have a lot of responsibility. They wanted me
to go, and in fact, I struggled because I held
(10:45):
out of the whole offseason. I didn't show up like
two weeks before the first preseason game. So they hand
me this playbook that was about this stick and it
looked like the Encyclopedia. Right, I'm like, what is this
language y'all just sent me? And so I struggled to
pick up the playbook and they all Phillips, John Pagano,
Greg Manusky, and they all brought me into a room
(11:05):
and wait, they said sit down. I said, all right,
I sat down. They said we want you to do this.
We want you to see ball, go ball. And I said,
I said, coach, what does that what does that mean.
I said, we're gonna line you up to you what's
had to go, and after that, we want you to
go get get the football. That was my playbooks, like
the first three three weeks of the season. That takes
all the thinking out. That was it. And so you know,
(11:27):
slowly I started to pick up on things and I
was able to, you know, swap week side of the
strong side if they shifted or did anything. I was
knowing every side of the defense because I might be coming,
I might be dropping, I might be a Russian whatever
and so but they made it very simple for me.
So I really credit them for, you know, kind of
put me in a position to do what I did
best and not to go get the quarterback. Now tell
(11:49):
me this in two thousand and Sea two thousand and seven,
I gotta know this. I mean, you look like a
tough guy. You really played with like a torn L
c L and pc L like the last five games,
and you still had all those sacks that year. And
I heard you doing another podcast, You're like, you know,
that's probably one thing I wish I would have done
better in my career, was Yah, take some time to rest, Like,
(12:10):
don't just try and rush back because that later on
made me maybe compensate a little bit. The next you know,
had an achilles, right, and so kind of really started
to break down. Your body started breaking down, and you
weren't smart about just backing off of it. Yeah, you know,
I don't have a lot of regrets because every time
I even practiced, so I stepped on the field, I
tried to go as hard as I possibly can. I
never shot away from no contact. I was looking for
(12:32):
contact every time I got an opportunity to. But that's
one thing I wish because maybe the prolonged my career.
And like, you know, some of these guys go get
their jackets and yeah, yeah, yeah, damn that. So it
stung a little bit when the first time. I'm good now,
but when I first retired them, for sure, I mean
especially the way you started, bro, you were it like
yeah yeah. And so you know, I was playing with
(12:54):
on PCL LCL and I was playing so well that
I went to go see three or four in the
country just to figure out if I could keep playing
or not as I was, and they were like, man,
we just saw you have two sacks on this thing,
Like we don't even we don't want to touch you. Yeah,
because it was a big you know, it's one of
those things where you're going to be out nine to
twelve months and no doctor Andrew. I mean I want
(13:16):
to see everybody and Andrew, doctor Andrews. When I seen him,
he was like, he said, Sean, I just I watched
the game like I don't know what you want us
to do. And so that's why I ended up starting
the next season and just playing through it. And then
it was so unstable after that first game. I had
to but if I can take it back over again,
when I got hurt, I would have, or even right
(13:37):
after the season I was going to miss part of
the next season. Got it done because longevity it could
have helped out on some things. Do you think you
were forced into like getting back right now or no, No,
it was me. It was just it was me. It
was me. I think that's so important to the word longevity,
Like when you first get in the league, our mindset,
we just want to get there. Then we want to
make an impact. We don't make usplash. I don't think
(13:57):
we ever really realized like the longevity part of it
is what really separates the great ones from everybody else.
It's like, man, you got to be able to have
a stretch of just impacting and changing the game exactly
what you were doing. But man, if you do that
for ten years versus those eight or eleven years, man
you are right there. But was that you are the
(14:19):
one injured though? You know what I'm saying, Like, I
know you've had some injuries, and well, just I kind
of have a two part question. But speaking of longevity,
high school, college, college league, were you ever injured in
high school? At college? No? Right, that's another thing, and
you don't know that. It's like, yeah, I played I
don't know, four years of college ten games. Will say
(14:41):
forty games in college, and if you go to a
bowl game, we'll say forty five games in college, or
forty games in high school, forty five games in college.
And then you're just playing these games straight and you
don't know what it's like to be injured. So the
first time you get injured, it's kind of like a damn,
what I know, I got to get back out there.
I couldn't fathom it. I couldn't fathom it because I
(15:03):
think that we all walk around like superheroes, all of us,
no matter what stage you're at and then like the
mentality is a superhero, you can't get hurt, or if
you do get hurt, you can just play through the
jump matter. And so look, you can play through you know,
some hamstrings stuff and try to get through whatever. But
I was playing on the injury that could shortened my career,
(15:25):
and so at the time too, we had an opportunity
to win a championship. That year. We went to the
AFC Championship game, which I played in that game with nothing.
I had two sacks against Tom and I'm talking about
when I stopped on the ground, my knee was sliding.
My knee was I can fill it sliding backwards and
fords and I was like, man, this is the year
we're gonna win a ring. So I'm not. I'm not.
(15:46):
I'm not getting a surgeon. If I do, it's going
to be after we get win the super Bowl. That
was my mentality, and we didn't. And so once I
went finally get the surgery, they said, hey, you this
is gonna be an eight month you know, six to
eight month deal minimum, right, So I couldn't. I couldn't
really fathom that part missing that amount of time. And
that's why I continue to play for it. This is
the same thing we did in Carolina my last year
(16:07):
a cl whatever, playing whatever, different story at different time.
Talk to me about the what what game? Do you
specifically remember what play it was when you had some
knee issues in the player or lineman or whatever. Yeah,
I got I got that. I got hit by Kevin
Mwai and another offensive lineman against the Titans and No.
Seven and uh, you know, I never really talk about
(16:31):
it too much as I hate complaining. Yeah, you know,
I got, I got hit. You know, if you people
watched the game, watch the film that was twenty yards
away from the play, you know, so you can kind
of figure out, Hey, we keep receipts around here, dog,
especially as defenders, we keep receiving. Yeah, so you know,
it is what it is. I talked to Kevin why
about it. We straightened it out, and you know, but
(16:52):
to your point, we talked about longevity. You know that
even that game alone, before I got hurt, I had
three four SiZ that was like in the first half.
You know, I like two or three in the first half,
and so you know, they trying to.
Speaker 2 (17:03):
Slow you down by any means necessary.
Speaker 1 (17:06):
They trying to do anything else. They're like, man, you
brought this on yourself. Yeah, you know what I'm saying.
I do. What I want to know is with all
the sacks and all the success you had, how many
times did they pissed test you? Oh, the last three
years a lot. Twenty times. I actually got suspended in
two thousand and six, and before then I was I
was pissed test twenty times in my first year. That
(17:29):
does happen. I want everybody to know that you go
out there and have a great game on the prime time,
but you will get pizza. You will get pissed tests.
Oh yeah, within the next twenty four hours. That happens too.
I mean, so I filled my twentieth one, but I
passed the nineteen. I said, listen, y'all give me some credit.
But I passed. Came up one slide, but you know, yeah,
(17:53):
it's for sure. You know. And guys now, because social
media wasn't a big back, yeah, of course. So you
see some of these guys now, like I think Aaron
Donald had a big game and he posted, oh jj
wall if one of the guys, Yeah, who posted is
his pist test? The next day? Yeah, when he had
a big game. They ain't ain't no random about that, Like, yeah, yeah,
we got it, got it? Mine was anytime after I
(18:16):
hit thirty and I had a good game, I got
pissed test after the game. It was like clockwork. I
got an email three years ago to take a pissed test,
I swear, and I tweeted about it. I showed the emails, like,
you guys realize I've been retired for about three plus
maybe four years now, y'all still want me to take
a p test? Like that's just yeah, they got They're
gonna find you that I ain't been in the league
(18:39):
in four years. They called me one time. It was
my birthday weekend. I was in Vegas and I woke
up to a call him. I'm hungover, I'm rolling around
it pay dude who was calling me? And I noticed
the NFL you know, random number, And I'm like, oh,
this got it? I asked the phone, said dude, you
ain't gona getting up with the kill out of me.
(19:00):
Trust that's all y'all getting from me. But it came up.
But they'll come out. It's part of it, all right.
So all that happened, the injuries, all these other things
now you're like, Okay, at what point in time do
you know it's time to retire? Because we all know
at some point, but I think that I think that
(19:20):
we're the last ones to know. You're probably right about that,
you know what I'm saying, Like I think that you're
in now, You're in the now. You don't because what
makes us great and put us on that platform, it's
not just because of our physical capabilities, because how we
think and with our mindset, how we set our mindset
to go and do stuff, and so our mind is
still my mind is telling me, I'm I'm the first
(19:42):
three years right body wise, can the explosion? I can
still do all these things. But my body is like, no,
you ain't. And so I started to notice, like my
last year in Buffalo, uh, and I played some of
the guys who I played against in the charges, I
would normally these guys like I would just yeah, you
know with And so I didn't have like that that
(20:05):
burst off the line of scrimmage or being able to
turn the corner because my my achilles wasn't you know
and Achilles, man, it is the absolute worst injury. I
mean I heard it in my in my in my opinion.
It's the absolute worst. And I have my knee. I
fully reconstruct the knee. I came back from that. I
was fine. Actually from the knee. The achilles is the
one that stopped me from the get off, from the
(20:27):
kind of scrimmage. I lost that. And then when I
when I lost that, I became like an average above
average guy. Wasn't like great, and I wasn't explosive anymore.
And so I was watching film and I said, man,
that's just gotta be it, you know what I mean,
Like I was like because you know, it was the
same guy who I played against a couple of years back,
(20:48):
about four years before then. And I mean I was
dog and this guy couldn't block me and he was
blocking me, and man, I couldn't do nothing. He was
grabbing me up and I couldn't get off the block
and I couldn't get around him. I couldn't retrace the football.
I said, there, that's about it. And so what did
that do to your ego? Watching that? Mentally? Yeah, well
(21:09):
that's what. So that's for me personally, that's what pushed me,
pushed me into retirement, right, because you know I played
with a level of confidence. You know what I'm gonna
I'm gonna get off of every game. I'm to have
a big play or have a big sack, or do
something to change the games. And even at the end
of my career, I would have flashes to being able
to do it, but I couldn't do it consistently, you know.
So I'll pop up in the first quarter somewhere that
(21:30):
I disappear half the second quarter, and I pop up
again in the second half and make a big play.
When it's like every time I got off the ball,
you have to worry about me every single time. And
then I got to the point where it was just
flashes of it, and so mentally it started to beat
me up more than physically. I could have went back
and played. I could have just you know, hoppled around me.
I could have stolen a couple of years. I could
(21:51):
sold a couple of years. But I said, man, if
I can't do what I did before, why am I here.
I couldn't mentally grasp that to my by watching me
on the film and knowing that I wasn't I'm not
what I was. We're gonna take a short break and
we'll be right back. So my guy room went to
(22:11):
radio row this last pass super Bowl and just he
fell in love with it, had an awesome time. He
couldn't believe it was like, oh man, this is right here,
roll like this. It was my first it was his
first time. Like he was just eyes wide open, like
he was in Vegas for the first time. Now, I
know you went there and there was some type of
off There was an offensive line and this is before mma,
(22:33):
we'll get into that, but there was an offensive lineman
who challenged you to a fight. Yeah, who was that?
And like, let's let's let's dive in it out a
little bit. How does that? How does that story go?
Everybody said he want to fight? Man, you know, I
mean like you know, I mean, look at this, dude. No,
but but you know, okay, so this is my thing, right,
(22:56):
I'm in to fight business in general. And so Yeah.
The reason why I love it because it reminds me
a lot of the locker room, like the back and forth,
like like even if guys don't fight, it's just a
constant what's up, what's up? Hey? What you know? It's
just that yeah, back and forth. And to me, the energy,
I love that energy. I love around it because it
keeps me. I'm laughing. I'm you know, I just stay
(23:19):
young with the rest of the guys. And so, you know,
I'm going to spar pros. I sparred you know, cruiseweight
champion last week, and I'm in there and now we're
not going at it trying to knock your heads off
and knock the other out. But it's a lot of
good work. And so when you see, you know, a
guy you know, and I'll tell you who that guy is.
It was calch Early, Okay, you know that. I guess
(23:40):
he came up to my one of my publicists and
he was like, you know, I wanted to fight. He
wanted to fight, right, And so I'm like, okay, cool,
who's he wanted to fight? Man? You know cause I'm
I'm already in mass making mode. I'm I'm like, man,
I can match this guy up against him. And I'm
right because I'm already thinking about it. And You're like, yeah, Sean,
(24:03):
you know that the coment frogged me when it's kind
of looking So I was like, what, you know, you know,
that's not something that's smart for you. I don't think
you want to do that. Yeah, But there I'm open
to me. There's a couple of w W guys, former
current and former that want to that want to fight.
(24:24):
I told him, come over, I'll senior contract, we'll we'll
work out the details, and we can do it in
lights out of training fighting in my in my league,
we can. I got no problem with that. But I
also think that in the in this, in fighting, in this,
in the business in general, you don't go like, you
can play basketball, you can play football, you know, we
played it, but fighting it's just one of those things
(24:45):
like you can't play, you can't play. You better do
it or you or don't do it right, because if
you're not fully capable mentally, physically and you're ready to
go in there. We've seen some tragedies the Jake, the
YouTuber what's his name, Jake Paul, Jake Paul. When the
basketball Nate Robinson he you don't play boxing, Yeah, look,
(25:08):
it's like, yeah, I'm gon just go find like yeah
he messed around and found out yeah quick. And it's
one of those things. I look, I love being on
the backside of things because we had production, you know,
TV trucks, and I love being on that side of
the business. The promoting the marketing, the putting the fights together.
I love that side of the business, but it also
too that edge of me, that little bit to say
(25:29):
I can I can go with some of these guys nowhere. Yeah,
but unless you're ready to step in there and do
it all the way, man, I just I haven't. I
haven't done it. Now, what led to you trying to
own your I mean there's a lot of ups and
downs with it, but like what led you to owning
or getting into like trying to have your own league. Yeah.
So I started, you know, training on the off season
back in between two thousand and five and two thousand
(25:50):
and six. You know. So I'll go do my off
season workouts whatever, go get so I can get my
what do you call the bonus, the workout bonus. Yeah,
so I go, I'll go get that workout in and
I'll end up going to to train. I was training
in Jay Glaziers Gym. Yeah, yeah, for and I grew
up boxing. My uncles were professional boxer, so I grew
up just naturally boxing. And he's like, man, you can
(26:11):
I don't know you can box? And I said yeah, yeah,
he said, be able to try them in May? He
said no, he said, I think it'll help your hands
and being a better pass rusher I saw on linebackers.
I said, oh cool, I'm down. I'm done text men address.
I go to this address next day in La I
walk in the gym. Jay Glaziers here, Randy Gautore is here,
the great Yeah. So I'm looking at Jay. I'm like, yo, what,
(26:33):
I ain't fighting Randy, and I hope you know that
that's not you know. He said, no, no, no, we're gonna
We're gonna work right show you how to use your
pumble grapple. Yeah, use your hands, leverage and all this stuff, man.
And that was It was humbling for me that day
because I'm fifty sixty pounds bigger than Randy. I'm stronger
than he as a more athletic, and yet he's sitting
there tossing me around and I can't figure it out.
(26:54):
And so I knew that there was something about this
sport that was going to help me in the field.
And that's why I came out in two thousand and
six and I laid the NFL and sacks. I started
using my hands and being able to bend the corner. Yeah,
big time. I wasn't high anymore. I mean, I'm opening
up and turning around those big tackles. And that's when
I knew it was something about this sport that was
going to help me in football. And so fast forward,
(27:16):
I started doing every single year and I ended up
launching Lights Out Extreme Fighting back in twenty nineteen, and
we're on Football, Football TV, Football Sports. Yeah, and so
we just we just crossed over to the top ten
most watched all time. Our last fight we had in May,
we just crossed into the top ten most watched. And congrats,
appreciate it. All right, man, we'll talk about Well, let's
(27:38):
let's stay on that topic. Where do you guys fight at?
Because I want to continue to promote this. I think
it's awesome that you have gotten into this. I'm a
big MMA fan. I don't have football sports, so I'm
not able to watch it all the time. But where
do you guys have your fights at? How often do
you have them? And just kind of let's talk about it.
What makes your league until also what makes your league
(28:00):
different than the other leagues. Yeah, we we have the
next up and coming superstars, right, that's the difference. Yeah,
that's like UFC got me into the sport like they're
branding their storytelling, they're building their fighters. And so I've
been around my first UFC fighters in two thousand and
I've been over thirty five fights over the last you
know how many years, and so I got a chance
(28:20):
to see that from a distance. But we also played NFL.
Where's the biggest production, it's the biggest storytelling, it's the
biggest pathway to getting it out there, because nobody's really
done it bigger than the NFL, especially here in this country.
So we come from that. So that's what I'm used
to being a part of. And so fast forward, you know,
us launching the fights. We're doing a fight every six weeks,
(28:41):
so we'll go Saturday to we're October seventh, and we're
at the end of November Long Beach, and a lot
of these fighters in California in general, there's a ton
of fighters that just don't get an opportunity to coming up,
Like we have amateurs. We're gonna be showing amateurs live.
Nobody's doing that, showing amateur fighters because these guys are
going to end up turning pro with us, you know
some of them. Yeah, I'm sure we end up turning
(29:02):
pro with us, and so we're we're kind of bringing
these guys all the way through and we're kind of
creating loyalty with them and kind of get behind them,
promoting them and giving them a shot because when it
comes time to turn proudem like, man, those guys put
me on TV like they you know, they took care
of me until a lot of these guys are end
up turning pro. But we want the young Connor McGregor's,
We want the young Rond de rousis a man in
(29:23):
New Nest. We always looking for them. And then when
we can't, you know, facilitate the partnership with like the
deal anymore, like have them there because either we can't
pay them or they want another opportunity. I tell them
I've dropped the Danny White myself up to the facility.
You know, we don't we don't mind that. I saw
a picture of O'Malley who just won the belt for
the for the UFC in like twenty thirteen. This dude
(29:45):
like like just like skinny regular curly here yeh yeah yeah,
And now you see them, it's like, yeah, but that's
what you're talking about. You want to get those early
guys and then we want to continue to promote you
come on here, let you fight in front of the
body with your on TV, and then you're going to
pretendue to progress. So you guys aren't enemies with UFC. No, no,
(30:06):
not at all. And then you know USC is so
big man, they're not you know, they're not worried about
anybody else. And so what you can hope to do is,
you know, we got a lot of tech coming right,
fan engagement, tech, teching and gloves oh yeah, yeah, yeah,
different cameras. So we've become more of a incubator for
AI and tech and like we can do some really
cool and fun stuff that I just UFC they can't
(30:27):
do it too big. You know, they got too many
loyal fans. And we're just kind of getting off the
ground to the point where, yeah, we're our viewership is
great and people know about us. But we can start
implementing a lot of these things without messing things up
too much. We I mean, not this fight. This fight
will have the drone cameras and stuff we're trying out
because it's outside. We had the area of view. I
mean to see the top of the top of it.
(30:50):
Nobody's done that yeah, so we that's gonna be cool innovative.
I like it, very innovative. And then after that, we're
starting to implement some of this other fan engagement tech
and AI that we got coming. Yeah. So, I know
when I played, one of the biggest things that I
would try to do is lessons learned. Right when I
think I became the player I was because I really
focused on my failures when we lose a game or
(31:11):
I'd have a terrible game, and I would look at
the film, take my notes and try to figure out,
like what could I do to become better. Now, you
starting out as an entrepreneur, you got your own league,
what have been some of the lessons learned for you
thus far? That is chaotic? You know, it's it's you
have to almost be able to operate in chaos. And
it's for because you know, this week we had a guy,
(31:33):
uh get went down accent on hit butt in practice,
like one of our top guys. He sold two hundred tickets.
And so when you have something like that, now you're like, Okay, well,
how do we feel. Yeah, a good really good fighter,
up and coming guy that sold two on the tickets,
and how do you replace that? And figure that out.
Now you got to work with the commission to make
sure that they're medical. The new guy medicals are pushed
(31:54):
your last minute replacements. Find a guy who's ready in
four to eight or you know, four or five days. Right.
So although those things and also you have you know,
Fouboa like, my team is constantly in communication with them
on production engineering and you know, satellite feeds and secondary
satellite feeds, you name it. It's it's a non lot.
It's yeah, it's a NonStop thing, man. But I honestly,
(32:15):
I wouldn't rather do anything else. Okay, I was literally
gonna ask you, like, I mean, all this sounds hectic,
but but this is what you want. I wouldn't honestly,
I wouldn't want to do nothing else, you know. For me,
it's it's it's very hard to replace that filling and
run out the tunnel seventy thousand plus. It's very few
(32:36):
things in this lifetime can they can do that, or
big hit or pick or punching the dam ball out,
you know, just it's a turnover play to just put
you guys in a different you know. So it's very
few things in this world that can do that. And
That's why a lot of guys struggle when you're done,
because that you know, getting home to those text messages
and people calling you and everybody you know, just it's
(32:57):
very hard to replace that feeling. It. I found something
to replace that, and that's saying a lot because that
same passion to have you going to do this over here,
right that big player whatever it is, like I'm this
is it for me? Like I don't I don't want
to do anything else, and to bring a lot of
these guys along, up and coming guys. We got former athletes,
(33:19):
NFL guys or guys that didn't play that long maybe
four five years and still ready to go. We're transitioning
to these guys right now, we're going to be announcing
some really big signings here. People come and fight for us.
They played in the league, this didn't have that long
career that you know a lot of guys did well.
That was gonna be My next question was You've been
a really good outlet for that that realm where a
(33:41):
lot of the former players or athletes, whether it's football
or other sports that are very interested in mixed martial
arts that hey, you can come here and be a
part of it. Well, are you helping those guys train
for it? How is that transition going? And what kind
of advice would you give anybody who's interested into it?
Because you, like you said, it's more coming down the pipeline,
it's not. This is just beginning. This isn't something out
(34:01):
of the ordinary or something just a fad. Yeah, and
you're you're right, that's gonna happen a lot. You see,
Le'Veon Bell and Adrian Peterson took a fight. Greg Hardy
had a short stint and left c Frank Gore, you know, like,
this guy is coming and Ojoe Sinko box du didn't
he did and he looked good too. Yeah, we're gonna
do it, and so hold lights out. We on his
(34:24):
were fighting. Who we fight? We fighting each other on
light time? How much you wait? I'm too old, said
I'm too ten, He too o five. Let's get it.
I'm not two o five and I'm not fighting. But
we just talked about that, Tom. How much I'm not
play fighting? This is not it. How much you weigh
to me, I'm probably like one ninety eight two. I'll
(34:45):
get the two o five. You have a five, y'all
can do that dude, you don't play fight like you
just said this. This is what we just talked to.
We can't experiences, believe that's why to make it a
great fight. You gott you got to you know, see
sea level guys just fighting. Oh my gosh, this is
I think that people want to see it. I think
(35:05):
that people want to see it too. Bro. Let's go.
Let's I'm trying to backpaddle the of this so fast.
How much time? How much time do you need? Give
me six weeks. I'm ready, coach wen, we're gonna be
in the October throw down? What seven?
Speaker 2 (35:23):
You could be ready for that October seventh?
Speaker 1 (35:25):
Let's do it. I think I got work that day.
We was just talking about that. This is Saturday too,
so you're working on the weekend. I do work on Saturdays. Good,
all righty ga make it. We can do it on
a Sunday. I can move it. Were talking to the
man himself, Oh my god, we can do this. Look
at my tin, bro, I can't take a punch. My
tin is not why you see he look at his neck?
(35:47):
My next decent. We got six weeks to get got
every like, dude, how do you do that? Like? How
do you get better at taking the punch. Can you
do that? Now? The whole goal is not too so
I'm all already looking at the wrongs that's to come
and listen. I don't want to get h in the
(36:09):
face and say, yeah, that's the whole point. You want
to avoid hitting the face, that's part of it. You
got me crying. I know, I know what's been one
of the worst punches knockouts you've ever seen.
Speaker 2 (36:23):
You were just like, oh my god, you got.
Speaker 1 (36:25):
You know the reference from Friday you got a m
M A in the name your league.
Speaker 2 (36:31):
Yes, sir, talking all lights.
Speaker 1 (36:33):
Out in my league. It was actually amateur amateur kid
came through you, Ryan Shazaar. Okay, yeah, So we we've
had some guys, man, some knockouts and and obviously you
know that's I love it. I was like, isn't that
the best part about it? Well, you want everybody to
be be safe. It's the same thing, man, Like we
(36:56):
we all love like death shots and big knockouts and
stuff like that, but also too, like, because I'm behind
the scenes and better around sports all that really technical
stuff too. Why I'm looking like, man, that dude scale
like his ground game, the way he get up his
takedown defense. I'm looking at everything you know and just
guys how they keep the composure. But I think at
the end of the day, we all love a good knockout.
(37:17):
Oh for sure, you've never done any boxing, no grappling, No, no,
I have. My son does jiu jitsu, so he does.
I tell look, I try. My son does it, and
he loves it. I just learned watching him and listening
to his coach. So I tell everybody it's especially former guys.
Man like, Okay, if you don't want to fight, no problem.
But what I do think that everybody should do, and
(37:38):
you see to a just start picking up jiudittionals. I
think that every former athlete should pick up some form
of combat sports. I don't thin if you're just boxing,
jiu jitsu, grappling, whatever it is. Pick something up, man,
because it does something for you. And whether you're going
to fight or not didn't matter. But I just think
in the head space mentally, the state disciplining state competing
(37:59):
in something, then yeah, it does allow for you.
Speaker 2 (38:03):
So the name lights out.
Speaker 1 (38:05):
Now. I did a little bit of research and they
say you knocked out full people in one game in
high school three in the first half, three in the
first half, one in the second half, one in the
second half. That's basic math for you. Three plus one
is fox not for but foe? Now, how walk me
through that? Like?
Speaker 2 (38:24):
Was you mad?
Speaker 1 (38:24):
Was you? Would you?
Speaker 2 (38:25):
Like Ladimer the program which you just like oh, like
were they little?
Speaker 1 (38:31):
Were they big? Were you know? Like you have some
context if you ever had those games you feel like you, uh,
you're like in the zone that you just kind of
blank out, like it's just a blur. Everything you're doing
is right.
Speaker 2 (38:43):
No, I remember, it wasn't a blur. Its just I remember.
Speaker 1 (38:46):
It's just like you can start like you feel I
just start trying, I do I do? When and everything worked? Yeah?
And everything worked? I mean I had I had a
game like that in the pros. We played out of
Raiders on Monday Night football, I like four or five,
Like I felt like I could have won for seven
sacks and kept me I din't play the fourth quarter.
It was one of those times where I felt like
I could have got seven eight sacks. They kept me
(39:07):
in the game. It was like that. In high school,
it was like anybody to come here is getting blown up.
Like that was like everybody that's coming my way is
getting blown up, and they did and some mad mamas.
So the next the next game we had, we had
a you can't you can't tell about next game, So
tell me the play. Who got dropped? All play? The
(39:30):
full back? You know, I broke So everybody go to
knockdown and go to sleep. But if they got up
and then return in the game, we counted that as yea,
the full back broken collar bone and he went off.
He was done. Offensive line, we would get the on
side kick. He was done. Quarterback on the sweep, he
was done. And I think it was a running back
who caught the ball out the backfield. And so you know,
(39:53):
at that at that the men amongst boys, you know,
but when this happens, right, this is pre social media.
And so what happened. And after that game, I had
about twenty students come run under me and said, man,
you knock you knock these guys lights out? And I
was like, yeah, you know, call me lights out. I didn't.
I didn't expect for it to happen, you know, like
(40:13):
I just yeah, I was like, yeah, yeah, you know,
call me, call me lights out. So that right, so
high school, Yeah, so with my software in high school.
This is pre social media. So I got to class.
I got my book bag on Monday, and I carried
my books around and people walking around They're like, yoh,
what's up? Lights like? And I was like, ooh, you
(40:34):
know like that. So I went home and I rushed home.
I went to knock my mom my mom door. She
was home, she was home from work already, and she
was smoking. She smoked cigarettes. And I'm walking in the
room like I'm doing that, and I said, ma, we
we uh. We got to get this lights out tattoo
on my right forearm. And so cause I had one
(40:54):
of my one of my boys to draw it up.
And I was like, I want the lights out tattoo
on my forearm with the hand just what I got now,
And she said, boy, get the hell out of the room,
right She told me to get out. And so every day,
every day for two weeks, I was like, I'm hounding
there every day. And then finally that that at the
end of the two weeks, he said, all right, come on,
leave me alone. Let's go. You know we're gonna leave him.
(41:14):
She took me get this tattoo, and so that's where
the lights out thing happened. We had a game on
the ESPN, my freshman of the University Mayland playing Georgia Tech. Yeah,
wide receiver Watkins. It was on the hits on YouTube. Watkins.
I just got I wouldn't started and I was dropping
into the flats. It was a crossing pattern and I
came in hit him, knocking me. His back went immediately
(41:37):
to the ground. Yeah, and I got up and I
and I did that and I didn't jump at first, right,
It's just that and the crowd got loud, and that's
when I did that. Yeah. So my coach, Rolph Friedan,
who's head coach at the time, he came over and said,
if you ever do that again, you'll never play. That's
what he told me. Celebrate, celebrate, and so uh my heads,
(41:59):
I'm like cut down here, down, like, oh d I
can you know? I went from here to here in
two seconds. But I got walked down the sideline and
my coaches and the play hear me say yo, what
was that? And I was like that was lights out
dance and it off. That was it. Oh, So that's
how that happened. I'm amazed that you so, because I
(42:21):
didn't know about the lights out until you were in
the league. I thought it was you did it when
you was in the league that I thought. Your first
second was.
Speaker 2 (42:28):
Like I was like, oh, that's that's pretty cool.
Speaker 1 (42:30):
Like no, I didn't know. I just think it's school.
It's brilliant because the marketing was there, the passion was there,
and this was before anybody else was thinking about this.
But bro, you were onto it. Lights Out, Like that's
how we all know you, and we all saw you
with the switch on your arm. I mean, eventually you're
in the league, they can they can shine in on
your tats. Yeah, we can finally see it. I like
(42:52):
that brand building in high school. Yeah, on top of it.
I was wondering because that was gonna be My next
one was like, did you go by lights out or
lights and college? Yeah? I mean still and in fact,
so your homies call you light Yeah, lights okay, yeah.
Speaker 2 (43:06):
Light skinned.
Speaker 1 (43:12):
Look Thomas looking at me like really do really? He
look he hated. I'm not hating right now. So that's
that's why they that's why I got a problem, No problem.
Speaker 2 (43:24):
No problem, but I don't want no smoke.
Speaker 1 (43:28):
And so you know what ended up happening was my
second at the end of my first year. We got
I got some money when I was in the league,
and I ended up buying the name in trademarks smart.
So it's a company called PJ. Salvage, what a big
pajama company. And Revine and my friend who was a
trademark attorney, we reached out to them and I ended
up acquiring all the trademarks and everything for light Time.
(43:50):
And that's how you're able to do lights out, extreme
fighting everything else. Man, that's with peanut punch, but Hershey
owns it. I couldn't couldn't get it. They don't need
your money, No, do not need your I I tried it.
I tried it. So look, man, you've great NFL career, college,
high school, You're doing your thing and uh in the
(44:13):
in the in the lights out of this mma with
your own league. Life's about journey. And we got guides
and they help us who have been the mentors in
your life. If you had your own personal Mount Rushmore
with four people who would be on it. It was
first of all my high school coaches. They took us,
they took me in. We lost, we lost our homes
(44:34):
and I was homeless for a while when we were
growing up as a kid and again in high school,
and so my my coaches and my dad wasn't around
like that, even though we got I got a good
relationship with my dad. Now my dad would around my
high school coaches kind of took that step to have
that kind of figure. And then for me, man, it
was like, you know, I got really cult to like
(44:56):
Diddy and Puff and you know, like a lot of
people who were smoke and so I got a chance
to spend time around them, like days, months, weeks, all
that stuff and spending time with them. So I started
to learn a lot faster than most people because I
can pick up the phone and call him and that
that that to me was invaluable to be able to
(45:16):
pick up the phone and call people like that. You know,
a good friend of mine, Stephen Jonah, who put me
onto the clothing space and showed me licensing. You know.
Donald Donald Trump was another one who took me under
my when out early on in my career. I spent
a lot of time with him on the business side,
(45:36):
you know kind of mean he did, man, I was
spend a lot of time with him in his office
and hanging around him and flying places with him, and
he would go in and have his licensing department, and
all these people like, hey, whatever Sean wants, make sure
we get it. Nobody's better at branding than him. Yeah,
and I learned a lot of that from from him,
just the branding of the hotel, licensing of the hotels,
and so yeah, he was a big influence. You know,
(46:01):
go to Diddy the Trump right, I mean you do.
You're rolling some high class I'm not lying. I mean
I think romans the most. I think you endeavor the
two celebris. I know, I appreciate it. Well, now you
know three because I know lights out pretty big time.
And so I was I was fortunate man because uh,
either at a really good circle of people, very successful
(46:22):
girl friend of mine, Ted Wait who on sol Gateway computer?
Jeff Hoff and who who who started? Uh? I think
the Price line or pceline. Uh? And so these you
have really met moguls, bro like being around them, you
can pick up talk to them and their ideas and questions. Yeah,
(46:43):
I think that's invaluable. And then uh, you know, like
I said, when you calling people like that pick up,
it means a lot. So well, I'm getting your number
after this because I might have to bounce an idea
or a question off you. So you're gonna You're gonna
be on my Mount Rushmore on my mogul you you
you are mogul now, so we're gonna be You're gonn
ask me? I got one more question before we get
out here. We usually end on the Mount Rushmore question,
(47:05):
but I got to know this is that is there
any former current player who Sean lights out Merriman would
love to go in the ring against. I mean, if
Kyle Turley wanted. I'm just there's there's some there's some
(47:31):
guys I think I just for me man, being on
this side of the business, I stay out of calling
people out because I think that's what the fighters and
promoter fights. Yeah, and the contracts that I did, you know,
send out. Like Adam Hunter, who's a comedian for the
UFC and does a lot of stuff for the UFC,
he asked me the other day about three weeks ago
(47:51):
about me fighting Shot, right, He's like, hey, would you
fight Shock? And I'm like, yeah, of course, why wouldn't I?
And so I'm I'm the type that if somebody's really serious,
then I'll make it happen. If they're really serious, but
I'm the one that I was in the contracts out
behind closed doors. I ain't going to the media. I'm
not the body. I'm gonna see if they really really
want to do this, and they gonna get a contract
for me. I'm gonna say, what's your price, and let's
(48:13):
let's and what it's going to take for you to
do it, and then I'll start to work that. And
I was in a contract guy, but I don't getting
up no responses, you know. So like some of these
guys will will do that and disappear and like be
on social media or somewhere and they're talking about it.
I'm like Bobby Lashley from the WW you know, he's
another one that wants to fight. I'm like, Okay, where
(48:35):
do I s in the contract? You know? How can
we get this done? So my answer to that is
anybody who wanted I guess. I mean, I don't really
have a Are you doing the lights out there? If
you drop one, no question, you got to, you got to.
I ain't seen it. I love to see it. I
ain't seen it in a minute. So yeah, I'm looking
forward to seeing it hopefully one day, one day, real soon,
(48:56):
and then you can we'll talk offline and and figure
out what we can send that contract for me in
Rome for our fight when Sunday, Yeah, right after church,
right after church, so we can get it in. We
could get it in. I only hanging. He left me hanging.
I got you.
Speaker 2 (49:11):
I appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (49:13):
All right, Hey, y'all, And that's the show man.
Speaker 2 (49:15):
I'm yeah, that was im speechless.
Speaker 1 (49:19):
All right, you know what. All right, we're out of here.
Thank you for all of our listeners wherever you pick
us up at Sean Merriman, you've been a blessing man.
Thank you for thanks spending time with us, man, encouraging
us and really entertaining all of our listeners. And this
was a good one. This was really good man. Anywhere
you listen to it, man, keep listening, man, Tell a
friend to tell a friend to tell a friend. Whether
(49:40):
you listen at Apple Podcast or iHeart man, this has
been a blessing man. This has been awesome. Thank you, La,
thank you, NFL Studios, NFL Player, second X Podcast. We're
out of here. Peace,
Hosts And Creators
Charles “Peanut” Tillman
Roman Harper
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!