Olivier
Aubin-Mercier did what most fighters could not: He walked away
at the top of his game and on his own terms.
The two-time
Professional Fighters League lightweight champion announced his
retirement from mixed martial arts in November, doing so with a
pair of million-dollar pursues in tow. Aubin-Mercier made his debut
with a 58-second submission of
Guy Poulin at
a Ringside MMA event on Oct. 21, 2011 and compiled a 21-5 record as
a pro. All five of his losses resulted in decisions and took place
across his 12 appearances in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship between April 2014 and July
2019. Aubin-Mercier signed with the PFL after parting ways with the
UFC and proceeded to rattle off 10 consecutive victories before
calling it a career.
With Aubin-Mercier’s exploits now in the rearview mirror, a look at
five of the many moments that have come to define him:
1. Short of Expectations
Adrenaline Training Center export
Chad
Laprise called up on sharp punching combinations, stout leg
kicks, nifty footwork and excellent defensive grappling in “The
Ultimate Fighter Nations” welterweight final, where he was awarded
a split decision over Aubin-Mercier on April 16, 2014 at the Pepsi
Coliseum in Quebec City, Quebec. Judges Sal D’Amato and David
Therien struck 30-27 and 29-28 scorecards for Laprise, while Erick
Philippeaux saw it 29-28 for Aubin-Mercier. Laprise always seemed
to be a step ahead of the judo black belt. Aubin-Mercier secured
takedowns in the second and third rounds, only to have to his
determined counterpart return to his feet. Laprise—who targeted the
legs, body and head throughout the 15-minute scrap—rang the
judoka’s bell with a multi-punch combination in the third round and
closed with a flourish, swarming Aubin-Mercier with punches in the
waning seconds.
2. Another Dimension
Aubin-Mercier proved he was far more than a one-dimensional
grappler when he dispatched
Evan Dunham
with a pair of knee strikes to the body and follow-up punches in
the first round of their UFC 223 lightweight prelim on April 7,
2018 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. A short-notice
replacement for
Mairbek
Taisumov, Aubin-Mercier brought it to a close 53 seconds into
Round 1. Dunham stung the
Tristar Gym representative with a straight left during their
initial exchange but saw his situation deteriorate from there.
Aubin-Mercier drew him into the clinch and blasted him with a knee
to the body. The stricken Dunham retreated to the cage, where he
was met with punches and another brutal knee to the solar plexus
before a sustained burst of punches finished it. It was Dunham’s
first stoppage loss in almost four years.
3. Next-Generation Reality
Stock in Russian prospect
Arman
Tsarukyan continued its upward trajectory when he took a
unanimous decision from Aubin-Mercier in a UFC 240 lightweight
showcase on July 27, 2019 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta. All
three judges scored it 29-28. An accomplished judoka who also holds
the rank of brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Aubin-Mercier was
undoubtedly caught off-guard by his counterpart’s tactics.
Tsarukyan closed the distance repeatedly, trapped the Tristar Gym
rep in the clinch and went to work with short punches and knees to
the legs. Aubin-Mercier wobbled the Russian with a well-timed knee
in the second round but failed to follow it with anything of
substance and wound up spinning his wheels once again. Tsarukyan
put to bed any hopes of a comeback in Round 3, where he countered a
takedown into top position and applied his ground-and-pound,
alternating between elbows and standing-to-ground punches. It
marked Aubin-Mercier’s final appearance in the UFC.
4. Million-Dollar Man
Aubin-Mercier on Nov. 25, 2022 wiped out former
Cage Warriors Fighting Championship titleholder
Steven Ray
with a sweeping right hook in the second round of their lightweight
final as part of the 2022 PFL Championships inside the Hulu Theater
at Madison Square Garden in New York. Ray met his demise 4:40 into
Round 2, suffering his first knockout loss in more than three
years. Aubin-Mercier—who pocketed a life-changing $1 million prize
in victory—seized the reins with a fast start, as he stepped into
thudding left hands and a series of damaging kicks to the lower
leg. Ray appeared to turn the tide in the second round, where he
surprised the Canadian judoka with a takedown, transitioned to the
back and anchored himself with a body triangle. Aubin-Mercier was
cool under duress and eventually escaped to an upright position. He
then circled on the outside and snuck a right hook over Ray’s
defenses, the impact of the concussive blow dropping the Scotsman
where he stood. No follow-up shots were necessary.
5. Money Train
“The Canadian Gangster” on Nov. 24, 2023 secured his second
seven-figure payday in as many years when he took a five-round
unanimous decision from
Clay
Collard, as their lightweight final headlined the 2023 PFL
Championships at The Anthem in Washington, D.C. All three cageside
judges scored it the same: 49-46 for Aubin-Mercier. He secured
takedowns in the first, second, third and fifth rounds and paired
them with positional control, ground-and-pound and a few submission
attempts. Aubin-Mercier held his own in the standup exchanges, as
he answered his counterpart’s combination punching with kicks to
all levels and managed to keep fatigue at bay. The 34-year-old
Firas Zahabi protégé announced his retirement in the days following
the event, marking the end of a successful 12-year run in the
sport.