{"id":691806,"date":"2026-05-24T16:38:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-24T16:38:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/691806\/"},"modified":"2026-05-24T16:38:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-24T16:38:10","slug":"former-browns-qb-johnny-manziel-wins-mma-debut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/691806\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Browns QB Johnny Manziel Wins MMA Debut"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t\t\t<img width=\"780\" height=\"440\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/GettyImages-1446547707-e1779635168731.jpg\" class=\"attachment-featured-image size-featured-image wp-post-image\" alt=\"Cleveland Browns\"   decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>Johnny Manziel wins MMA fight<\/p>\n<p>Former <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" title=\"Cleveland Browns\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/cleveland-browns\/\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"274265\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Cleveland Browns<\/a> quarterback Johnny Manziel won his MMA debut on Saturday night.<\/p>\n<p>Manziel was headlining the Brand Risk event, a promotion by influencer Adin Ross. The former Browns quarterback took on influencer Bob Menery at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, with UFC CEO Dana White in attendance.<\/p>\n<p>White had doubts Menery would even show up, but he did. However, it didn\u2019t go his way as Manziel won the bout by first-round TKO, as he used kicks to overwhelm Menery before getting him down and winning by ground-and-pound TKO.<\/p>\n<p>The full fight can be seen below:<\/p>\n<p>Bob Menery loses his fight against Johnny Manziel in Adin Ross\u2019 Brand Risk fighting event<\/p>\n<p>Dana White: \u201cHe\u2019s on something right now, he\u2019s all fcking Adderall\u2019d out\u201d <\/p>\n<p>It was a lackluster fight, as Menery didn\u2019t have many skills, while Manziel used his kicks to attack the influencer and get the win in the first round. The fight lasted just 2 minutes and 16 seconds.<\/p>\n<p>After the win, Manziel confirmed this would be it for him in MMA as he didn\u2019t need to fight again.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis was good enough for one time,\u201d Manziel said.<\/p>\n<p>The Browns selected Manziel in the first round of the 2014 <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" title=\"NFL\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"274266\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">NFL<\/a> Draft after a stellar career at Texas A&amp;M, where he was named the Heisman winner in 2012. However, he struggled in Cleveland and lasted just two years with the Browns.<\/p>\n<p>Manziel Claims He Hates The Browns Forever<\/p>\n<p>Manziel was uber popular in college and into the NFL among fans, as he was known for his flashy and cocky attitude, while also partying.<\/p>\n<p>However, in the NFL, Manziel struggled, and he was out of the league in just two years due to partying and extracurricular activities. Despite his own doing, Manziel said back in 2025 on <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=tRmTWoVUvzw&amp;t=358s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external nofollow\">the Nightcap podcast<\/a> that he believes Cleveland could have put him in a better spot.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think I will always be looked at and viewed at because of how much hype and media and everything that was around me, and the city of Cleveland expecting me to be great, and that ultimately not panning out,\u201d Manziel <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcsports.com\/nfl\/profootballtalk\/rumor-mill\/news\/johnny-manziel-ill-hate-the-browns-forever-want-them-to-go-0-16-every-season\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external nofollow\">said<\/a>. \u201cI sit here today and I\u2019m like, \u2018(Expletive) it, I think I\u2019m going to be pissed at them and hate them forever.\u2019 So, it is what it is, man. No love for the Browns, I\u2019m rooting for 0-16 seasons every season. \u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWas Cleveland the best situation for me to go to? Did they help me, knowing all the things they knew about me, with all the research and everything, did they put me in the best situation? Absolutely not. It was not the right situation for me. But when it comes down to it, you take all of that aside and you throw it away, you look in the mirror and you say, I let an amazing opportunity slip. It\u2019s on me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Manziel threw for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nfl\/player\/stats\/_\/id\/16736\/johnny-manziel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external nofollow\">1,675 yards, 7 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions<\/a> in 14 career NFL games with the Browns.<\/p>\n<p>Latest on Cleveland\u2019s QB Battle<\/p>\n<p>As for the Browns, Cleveland is in OTAs and has an intriguing quarterback battle.<\/p>\n<p>Yet, it appears that <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nfl\/player\/deshaun-watson\/\" title=\"Deshaun Watson\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"274278\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Deshaun Watson<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/cleveland-browns\/clear-message-deshaun-watosn-otas-direction\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">is on his way to being named the starter<\/a>, as he was handling the No. 1 reps. Browns head coach Todd Monken also had high praise for the veteran.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s been great. I\u2019m all for a clean slate. I want the best for every player, every coach \u2014 anybody in this world to have a great life,\u201d Monken said. \u201cI think it\u2019s really cool that he has an opportunity to showcase his ability and for us to see where he\u2019s at. At this point, he\u2019s made plenty of money and had plenty of success. He\u2019s also faced disappointment in his career and dealt with things outside of his control. But to come back, compete, and continue fighting to change the narrative is very cool.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For now, Monken has yet to say who will be the starter. But all signs point to Watson being the guy.<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/author\/coleshelton\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Cole Shelton<\/a> Cole Shelton covers the NHL, MLB, Buffalo Bills, Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns for Heavy.com. He has covered pro and college sports since 2016, including bylines at BJ Penn, USA Today, SB Nation, Rotowire, Canadian Baseball Network and more.  <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/author\/coleshelton\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">More about Cole Shelton<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Johnny Manziel wins MMA fight Former Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel won his MMA debut on Saturday&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":691807,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[570],"tags":[64,63,786,785,85],"class_list":["post-691806","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mma","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-fighting","tag-mma","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/691806","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=691806"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/691806\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/691807"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=691806"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=691806"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=691806"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}