Former NFL player Shawne Merriman is obsessed with Aaron Donald trying MMA in retirement
It’s rarely going to work out for most athletes who try to have success in two different sports, but Shawne Merriman might have a good point about Aaron Donald and MMA. The former NFL linebacker recently told Sports Talk Philly that Donald would make a great fighter but that AD would need to take a significant pay cut to start training for mixed martial arts:
“I would love for Aaron Donald to pick it up because he would be a monster,” Merriman said. “He’s retired and he’s got time on his hands. The only thing is, his bank account is too big. I can’t afford him. You look at Aaron Donald and he’s probably walking around at 280 right now. He could fight at 260, maybe 255, and just destroy people.”
This is not nearly the first time that Merriman, who started training for MMA in 2006 while he was still in the NFL, has mentioned Aaron Donald and transitioning to a fighting career. He’s mentioned it since at least 2021, like in this interview with Fubo Sports:
Now that Donald is retired, Merriman sees a fresh opportunity to remind people that the future Hall of Famer who changed the defensive tackle position forever has an ideal recipe for an MMA career:
- Wrestling background
- Dominant feet and hand technique
- Ripped
- Knows what it takes to train to be the best
- Likes to fight
There’s just no incentive for Donald to fight — or do any other career — because he does have so much money and nothing to prove. A lot of people would rather be known as “the greatest of all-time” in one sport instead of “the greatest of all-time in one sport, but do you remember how BAD he was at other sports?” like Michael Jordan and baseball.
Does Shawne Merriman have a point about Aaron Donald and MMA? Or is this just one fight he can’t let go of?
