Johnny Manziel spent years getting hit by SEC pass rushers, NFL LBs, tabloid headlines, and every “what happened to Johnny Football?” question imaginable. But on May 23, at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, there’s finally nobody left to blame if he gets punched in the mouth because this time, he signed up for it. The former Texas A&M QB is officially stepping into the celebrity fight game, where he’ll face comedian and social media influencer Bob Menery in a crossover boxing match.

For the first time, he won’t have a helmet, playbook, or teammates to hide behind. This is Johnny on his own in a boxing ring, under bright lights at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, with nowhere to run if things go wrong and nobody else to blame. Having zero professional combat sports experience isn’t stopping Johnny Manziel, who’s now 33 and training for the fight. Menery, 36, is on the same boat with no boxing background. It’s just vibes, beef, and cameras between these two. Still, the former football player sounds like he’s fully buying into the chaos. A video posted by FULL SEND MMA showed him sounding quite fired up after training camp.

“Man, [been] long day training for the Menery fight,” Manziel said from Toronto Bay. “I’m gonna go get five steps in on the beach. I would fight this m———- for free. The fact I’m getting paid for it is even better. Making excuses about weight, Steve’s not even on his team. I mean, what the fuck is going on here, Bob? How about I kick your a– and then we go out, and I outdrink you too, and we’ll see who the real winner is?”

The whole thing somehow has layers, as Dana White, Adin Ross, and Bob Menery are all involved. Brand Risk Promotions, founded by streamer Adin Ross in 2024, exists to turn influencer beef and celebrity chaos into combat events. Their whole pitch is bringing streaming culture into fight sports, as crossover fights keep making money.

Jake Paul built an empire off it, while former NFL players like Le’Veon Bell have already tested the waters. The audience cares about storylines, personalities, trash talk, memes, and whether somebody embarrasses themselves live on the internet. Johnny Manziel checks each one of those boxes. What makes this even crazier is how far removed this is from the version of Manziel people remember. 

Back in 2012, no one expected Johnny Football to flame out after he won the Heisman as a freshman. But then, two seasons after Cleveland drafted him 22nd overall in 2014, he was gone. Since then, there have been comeback attempts and stops in smaller leagues that never panned out. Now, he’s fighting influencers at the UFC Apex. 

The funniest subplot here might honestly be Dana White openly doubting Bob Menery will even show up. The pair has had a long-running, weird friendship/rivalry built on podcast appearances, public roasting, and constant trolling. So naturally, the UFC CEO turned this fight into a public trust exercise. 

“Menery never does anything he says he’s going to do,” he said in a recent appearance. 

At one point, Dana literally said he’d bet $10,000 that Menery would back out. But instead of killing hype, it actually made the event feel even more ridiculous in the best possible way. Prediction markets reportedly tracked the drama, too. After the comments, Menery’s odds of actually showing up dipped hard before climbing back up to around 85 percent. Meanwhile, Menery hasn’t really calmed concerns either.

Bob Menery thinks Johnny Manziel has an edge

Bob Menery admitted this week he’s struggling badly with the weight situation. According to the comedian, Johnny Manziel outweighs him by roughly 25 pounds, and he’s been force-feeding himself trying to bulk up for the fight.

“No one knows this,” he posted on Instagram. “But I have so many disadvantages in this thing. He’s got me by 25 pounds, and I have to, like, just try to force myself to eat 24/7 for regulation s—. It’s the f—ing worst. Grateful for food in front of me. And could be a lot worse, of course. And I have trouble gaining weight, I have my whole life. It’s frustrating and has nothin’ to do with zaps, ha. Adin Ross and all of ’em coming in hot this week.”

Johnny Manziel may not be a boxer, but he’s still an ex-pro athlete with coordination and competitive instincts. That matters in celebrity fights, especially against somebody without an athletic background. And Manziel sounds locked in. There will probably be sloppy exchanges and adrenaline dumps, but there’s also a chance it becomes entertaining. Or maybe if Dana’s right, it may not even happen at all.