Olivier Aubin-Mercier Believes the PFL Concept Has ‘So Much Potential’

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the PFL and UFC on ESPN+ live on your computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

“The Canadian Gangster” has found a new goal that fuels his career: Winning the Professional Fighters League 2021 Season.

Olivier Aubin-Mercier (11-5) is one of the new names debuting in the PFL lightweight division in 2021. Aubin-Mercier is currently training in Puerto Rico with John Danaher, given that gyms are closed in Quebec, Canada, due to the ongoing COVID-19 health emergency. OAM joined the PFL after his contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship concluded. In his last three Octagon appearances, Aubin-Mercier dropped fights to Alexander Hernandez, Gilbert Burns and Arman Tsarukyan. The Canadian fighter revealed he learned a lot from those losses while talking with Sherdog.

“I was not thinking about retirement, but it was really hard to take [those losses], for sure,” he said. “Actually, I thought it was really hard to take three defeats in a row, but then COVID-19 came in. It was a lot harder. I was not planning to retire, but it was tough. The competition I was fighting in the UFC was really high. I think I was on the verge of beating all those guys.”

“The Canadian Gangster” also revealed that he was in talks with different promotion after his UFC contract expired. Ultimately, he joined the PFL mainly because he was interested in the tournament format.

“The concept with the PFL with the regular season and the tournament format was really interesting,” he added. “I think the concept has so much potential. I grew up with Mortal Kombat and all those movies where you have to win the tournament to be the best in the world. I’m also used to tournaments since I did judo when I was younger. I know how it works.”