Olivier Aubin-Mercier talks PFL playoff challenges: I already beat 'the most dangerous guys'
The 2022 PFL playoffs get underway on Friday, and lightweight contender Olivier Aubin-Mercier is quite confident in his chances at potentially securing a championship win and the $1 million bonus that comes along with it.
"The Canadian Gangster" has every reason to feel that momentum. After all, in his two regular season contests, Aubin-Mercier (15-5) took out a pair of former champions in Raush Manfio and Natan Schulte. Now, the 33-year-old Canadian is matched up with Alex Martinez (10-2) at Friday's 2022 PFL Playoffs 1 event which airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+ from the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York.
While Aubin-Mercier insists he's not looking past anyone in the playoff bracket, having already eliminated both Manfio and Schulte – and with slick striker Clay Collard also failing to qualify for the playoffs – he likes his chances to advance.
"I think I beat everybody – the most dangerous guys, anyway, I think I beat them," Aubin-Mercier told MMA Underground. "I think Collard was really, really dangerous. Alex Martinez beat him, so it's interesting, you know?
"I don't want to be that guy that, like, is a douche bag, but I do feel that I just beat the best two guys the division, so I think I should win the all the other fights."
Of course, Aubin-Mercier also recognizes that in the fight business, not everything is quite in his control. Injuries are a part of the game, and he'll have a pair of weight cuts to deal with, as well. How exactly his body reacts to the grind of four fights in a year remains to be seen, so winning fights isn't the only obstacle he'll face.
"Now I think the challenge will be different," Aubin-Mercier said. "I think the challenges won't be necessarily in front of me but more with everything that's going to go around the fight – the injuries, as well as the weight cut. Everything. I knew it was going to be really hard to do four fights in six months and maybe I was not ready for that."
To see the full interview with Aubin-Mercier, check out the video above.
