Olivier Aubin-Mercier was counting the days until his PFL debut. It was March 2021 and he had not fought in the year and a half since departing the UFC. He’d had a strong run inside the Octagon for half a decade, but after suffering a third straight loss in the final bout of his contract, Aubin-Mercier had not been re-signed.
Now was his chance to step back into a cage and get his fighting career back on track.
But an injury during training burst his bubbling opportunity about a month out from fight night. OAM had to reluctantly contact the PFL to withdraw from the bout.
This was not the first time Aubin-Mercier had seen a scheduled fight fall apart. But considering his long spell of inactivity and his excitement over joining a new promotion, this cancellation hit him hard. He wouldn’t fully understand the impact, though, until several months later.
When Aubin-Mercier finally made it into the PFL cage that June, he quickly realized that things run differently in this company. He defeated Marcin Held by decision that night, but the victory took him nowhere. In the PFL, fighters amass points for the standings over a two-bout season. Aubin-Mercier, however, was able to fight just once during the 2021 season, and his one win, as dominant as it was, did not qualify him for the playoffs.
“It was a wakeup call,” he told ESPN. “I was so excited to come back that I was killing myself at training, and went a bit too hard at some point. My injury was not a big thing, but it was not possible for me to fight on schedule. I knew I had to change things.”
Clearly, the things that changed have worked out well for Aubin-Mercier. He is 8-0 in the PFL, including the four wins that earned him the 2022 lightweight season championship.
OAM begins his playoff quest for a second straight 155-pound championship on Wednesday in New York, when he faces Bruno Miranda on the final event of the PFL semifinals (6:30 p.m. on ESPN+). The bouts inside The Theater at Madison Square Garden feature lightweight and welterweight semis.
In finding success in the PFL, Aubin-Mercier is a rarity among UFC imports. Rory MacDonald and Anthony Pettis fell on their recognizable faces during their PFL runs. And just this season, former UFC fighters Aspen Ladd, Thiago Santos and Krzysztof Jotko all missed the playoffs in their first PFL season. Shane Burgos eked into the playoffs only after another fighter was pulled from the bracket. (Burgos faces Clay Collard in a Wednesday semifinal.)
“It’s always motivating to see those guys from the UFC, those big stars, come over to the PFL and lose,” Aubin-Mercier said. “I always knew I could compete with everyone over there” — he was 7-1 in the Octagon before the skid that ended his run in the promotion — “and I am better now than I was in the UFC. I showed that a few months ago by beating one of those guys, Shane Burgos, who was in the top 15 in the UFC. Shane is a great, great athlete, and I totally controlled that fight.”
Total control has been a trademark of OAM’s time in the PFL. His 2023 season opener against Burgos bore some key similarities to most of his other PFL bouts: He never found himself in trouble or taking damage, and he made it easy for the cageside judges. Yes, judges. Six of Aubin-Mercier’s eight PFL wins have come by decision. It may not always be crowd-pleasing, but avoiding slugfests is an intelligent way to navigate through a season that demands that you engage in four fistfights in less than eight months.
“It’s a grind, really demanding,” PFL play-by-play announcer Sean O’Connell said. “Making it through a season requires you to be in a constant state of readiness, and that is unfamiliar for people outside of this organization, where the fight schedule is beyond your control. You just have to be able to push through.”
O’Connell knows of what he speaks. Before his broadcast career, he had over 30 professional MMA fights, including seven as a UFC light heavyweight. The final five fights of his career came in the PFL, where he won the 2018 season championship.
“In every sport that I played, I always was the guy who was not so fast, not so explosive, not so whatever,” said O’Connell, who played Division 1 college football before taking up martial arts. “But I was always tough. I could grind through things that other people might not have been able to. And OAM is like that. The PFL format really lends itself to his style of fighting and preparation, his mentality and professionalism, just the way he approaches the game.”
The biggest adjustment for Aubin-Mercier was not in his fights — “I’ve always approached fights in a strategic, technical manner” — but more so in his training. He doesn’t take it easy in the gym, but his training sessions become shorter as his fights approach. “It was hard for me to restrain myself at first, but I have learned that this is how high-level athletes train for big tournaments,” OAM said. “When I was in the UFC, I sometimes would feel drained by the time of my fights. Now that I train smarter, I have more energy.”
The biggest challenge with fighting in the PFL, Aubin-Mercier believes, is focusing on the long view. The season begins in April and, with playoffs, goes until November, and there’s not a lot of downtime along the way. A setback, even a small one, can derail the whole thing — as was the case during his first season.
To stay on track, an athlete has to fight off the demands of a formidable opponent: the ego.
“As athletes, we all have ego, so we want to go 100% in training at all times and in every round of every fight,” Aubin-Mercier said. “But that is not possible in the PFL format. It’s cool to win a fight, but you have to be ready for the next one. And the next one is in two months.”
Ian Parker’s best bets for 2023 PFL Playoffs: Welterweights and Lightweights
Lightweight: Clay Collard vs. Shane Burgos
Collard to win (+110). This is one of, if not the most, anticipated fight in PFL history. After a loss to OAM in his PFL debut, Burgos bounced back with a unanimous win over Yamato Nishikawa. To get a win over Collard, Burgos needs to get going early and have a flawless performance. For Collard, this might be the year he makes a run to the finals. He is carrying plenty of momentum from his last fight, a TKO finish over Stevie Ray. Unless Burgos can take Collard down and hold him there for three rounds, I don’t see any other path to victory for him. Collard throws a ton of volume with a menacing pace, which I believe will be too much for Burgos.
Welterweight: Sadibou Sy vs. Carlos Leal
Sy to win (-175). Leal has been on a tear winning both his fights this season by knockout. To get the upset win over Sy, he will need to close the distance quickly. However, that is easier said than done against Sy, who excels at striking from distance and keeping opponents at range. I expect the same result as last season’s fight, a decision win for Sy.
Women featherweight non-playoff fight: Abigail Montes vs. Michelle Montague
Montague to win (+100). Montague looks to get the biggest win of her career and secure a roster spot for the 2024 PFL season against Montes. After back-to-back losses, Montes got back on track with a first-round knockout win over Brandy Hester. Montes has fought the higher-level competition, however, Montague is better. Look for Montague to utilize her wrestling here and keep that undefeated record.