Former San Diego Charges player Chris McCain is the latest NFL alum looking to break into combat sports, and on Saturday, he made the next step in that process. McCain was competing under the LXF banner, a promotion run by fellow gridiron veteran Shawne Merriman. In an amateur heavyweight bout against Matheus Moraes, McCain went the distance, picking up a unanimous decision win.

Speaking to Cageside Press after the fight, McCain said he was confident when the fight went to the judges. “Throughout the whole fight, he only had really one takedown. No damage to my face, don’t feel anything, didn’t touch me to my face. Just had that one takedown at the end of the first round, and that was pretty much it.”

“I hit him with a lot of kicks, a head kick to him, a couple of punches here and there,” he noted. “I definitely wasn’t worried when it went to the judges.”

The fight was halted for a time due to a low blow, during which some impromptu adjustments were necessary for McCain’s cup.

“I was on top of him on the ground, he was trying to kick me off. It got me right on the cup, and ripped it right out of the slot that it’s in,” explained McCain. “It was hurting pretty bad right then.”

Decked out in his old Chargers jersey, McCain clearly holds his former sport in high regard. But of the difference between walking out on the field, and to the cage, he revealed that it’s “kind of the same. You still have your fans, you’re going to have people cheering you on, on your side, other people are going to cheer for the opponent.”

“The difference is, football’s eleven people, and fighting’s just one. That’s really the only difference,” he added. “I enjoy it a lot more in the cage than I did on the field.”

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Los Angeles, CA — Brendan Schaub did it. Greg Hardy is at it currently. And Chris McCain is looking to be the latest former NFL athlete to make a go of it in MMA. Standing in his way at LXF 3, however, is Matheus Moraes, making his amateur debut and stepping in on short notice.

Heavyweight McCain made his own amateur debut earlier this year, under the LXF banner, a promotion run by another NFL star, Shawne ‘Lights Out’ Merriman. Hence the “Lights Out Extreme Fighting” name. McCain, in his debut, earned a second round TKO. Moraes, speaking to Cageside Press ahead of their showdown Saturday, wasn’t impressed.

“He’s a former NFL player, and I’ve been in martial arts since I was eight years old. So for me, being a former NFL player doesn’t mean much,” Moraes, who trains with Black House MMA, told us. “I trust a lot in my jiu-jitsu, a lot in my boxing, I have great coaches around me, so I’m sure I’m going to do well on Saturday.”

While it is a short notice fight, Moraes was essentially already in camp. “I was already training, I was looking for a fight before. I didn’t get a chance to fight, but I was already ready for anything that showed up,” he said. “When I got the fight, I was like ‘that’s my time, I’m ready.'” He’ll certainly need to be, as Moraes confirmed he only got word of the fight on Monday.

It will be Moraes’ debut, amateur or otherwise, but he’s been training in various disciplines a long time. “My mom took me to Judo when I was around eight years old because I was very chubby when I was a kid.” While the goal was weight loss, Moraes fell in love with training. Plus, “I grew up watching fights on TV. In Brazil fighting’s pretty big. That kind of woke up the desire inside of me.”

Since he was already training, as a teen, he decided he wanted to fight full time. “Since that, fighting has been my life.”

He’s expecting plenty of support against the former member of the San Diego Chargers, among other NFL teams. “I’m going to have many of my friends coming by, also a lot of people watching from Brazil online. I have a lot of people supporting me,” he said. “I’m going to go in there and give my best.  I’m sure I’m going to perform good, I’m sure it’s going to be a great night for me, and everybody can expect a great fight. I’m ready to put everything on the line.”

As for how he gets the win on Saturday night at LXF 3, “I’m going to take him down, put his back on the ground, and I’m going to choke him.”

LXF 3 takes place Saturday, September 21 at the Commerce Casino Ballroom in Commerce, CA.

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