5 Defining Moments: Olivier Aubin-Mercier

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.