Former Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel made his MMA debut on Saturday, defeating Bob Menery via first-round TKO.
Manziel vs. Menery headlined the Brand Risk Promotions 14 event, promoted by influencer and streamer Adin Ross, and aired live and free on YouTube. The event featured a mix of MMA and boxing fights.
In an amateur MMA bout that took place at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas — with UFC president Dana White watching live in the crowd — Manziel had a successful mixed martial arts debut. He began the fight by throwing kicks at his opponent before landing a takedown. From there, Manziel got on top of Menery and hurt him with ground and pound before the referee waved off the fight.
See the full video of the fight below.
Johnny Manziel Says He Won’t Fight Again
Manziel, who is now 33 years old, was the 22nd overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft by the Browns. Through two seasons in Cleveland, he went 2-6 with a 74.4 passer rating with 1675 passing yards and a 7-to-5 TD/INT ratio. He did not last long in the NFL, but he has remained in the public eye ever since, including competing in this MMA bout against Menery.
Following the bout, Manziel said that he got what he wanted out of his MMA experience and that he didn’t plan on doing it again. However, this fight drew a ton of social media interest, so perhaps there could be a way for Brand Risk Promotions to convince him to fight again.
Lance Stephenson Chokes Out Michael Beasley
Elsewhere on the card, former NBA players Lance Stephenson and Michael Beasley went at it in another MMA bout that was more entertaining than expected.
Stephenson landed a double-leg takedown on Beasley and then took his neck, choking him out with a rear-naked choke in the second round for his first win in his MMA career.
Watch the video of that fight here.
Stephenson played in the NBA from 2010 to 2022 for eight different teams, but he was most well-known for his time with the Indiana Pacers, where he played seven seasons over three different stints. Now 35, he tried his hand at MMA, and it went well for him. As for Beasley, he is now 37. He played in the NBA from 2008 to 2019 for seven different basketball teams.
Full Brand Risk Promotions 14 Video
If you want, you can check out the full Brand Risk Promotions 14 video right here. There were also several fights on the undercard, which were commented on by UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland, and were hilarious, so check them out by watching the video below.
Following the success of Brand Risk Promotions 14, don’t be surprised if the promotion runs it back for another event at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas. They were fortunate that the UFC had an off-week, so the building was available to them, but perhaps in the future, when the UFC has a week where they are not promoting an event, then Ross can do another star-studded event here.
Full Fight Video: Watch Johnny Manziel’s MMA Debut