Shawne Merriman Makes Extreme Fights Succeed – Los Angeles Sentinel

Chargers legend Shawne “Lights Out” Merriman has entered the world of MMA through his company Lights Out Extreme Fighting. Merriman now showcases up-and-coming MMA fighters through his events and broadcasts the fights on his streaming service Lights Out Sports.

Merriman founded Lights Out Extreme Fighting in 2019.

“We are the most widely used regional advertising agency in the world,” he said.

During the 2006 NFL offseason, Merriman began training in MMA. He learned to use his leverage and balance, which also helped him as a pass rusher in football. He continued to train with MMA fighters every off-season.

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After retiring, Merriman worked for several networks including ESPN, Fox Sports and WWE. This got him into television production.

“I hired a matchmaker, I hired a lot of producers directly from NFL Networks and Fox Sports. These are all people I work with,” Merriman said. “Then I built a production team.”

Lights Out Sports offers a variety of different channels and sports programming, from MMA to poker. Users can watch live sporting events, sports documentaries and sports movies. Lights Out Extreme Fighting events are also streamed on the platform.

“We have 30 different sports channels,” Merriman said. “We have 200, almost 300 sports films and documentaries and we have 16 different live sports.”

Lights Out Extreme Fighting is taking place for the 21st time^st Event on December 7th at Thunder Studios in Long Beach.

“We have a fight every four to six weeks,” Merriman said. “In 2025 I want to have at least 18 fights.”

Early in his career as a promoter, Merriman had difficulty finding fighters. As his company became more attractive to fighters, he learned to deal with the sometimes chaotic nature of an MMA event.

His favorite part of MMA events is building a team of people to run the event and watching them develop their skills.

“I’ve led a team my whole life,” Merriman said. “I love the flow of the team aspect.”

Merriman spent his first five years in the NFL with the then-San Diego Chargers. He was the 2005 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, the 2006 sacks leader and a three-time Pro Bowler with the Bolts.

To learn more about Lights Out Extreme Fighting, visit www.lightsoutxf.com