Tag: Olivier Aubin-Mercier

PFL tosses Natan Schulte from playoffs, suspends Raush Manfio after bout ‘did not meet the standards’

A fight between close friends Natan Schulte and Raush Manfio has resulted in both fighters suspended and one removed from the playoffs.

[autotag]Natan Schulte[/autotag] won’t be in the 2023 PFL playoffs after all.

Less than 12 hours after Schulte (25-5-1) defeated [autotag]Raush Manfio[/autotag] (17-5) via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) at 2023 PFL 6 and clinched a playoff spot in the process, the promotion announced his removal from the postseason and both fighters’ suspensions for the remainder of the season.

“Last night Natan Schulte and Raush Manfio did not meet the standards which all PFL fighters agree to uphold in competition,” a PFL press release Saturday said. “All fighters in their PFL Fight Agreements agree to use their ‘best efforts … skills and abilities as a professional athlete to compete … and defeat any opponent.’”

The bout in question took place Friday at Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta on the event’s preliminary card. For the majority of three rounds, Schulte and Manfio were hesitant to engage. The two are close friends and training partners.

“It was very clear that Natan and Raush did not meet that contractual standard in yesterday’s bout,” the promotion said. “PFL immediately suspended both fighters from the season and deemed the fight to have 0 points for purposes of League standings. PFL takes this action in recognition of its responsibility to all PFL fighters and all PFL fans.”

As a result, [autotag]Shane Burgos[/autotag] (16-4) will slide into a playoff slot and take on [autotag]Clay Collard[/autotag] (23-10), who previously clinched the No. 1 seed. [autotag]Olivier Aubin-Mercier[/autotag] (19-5) and [autotag]Bruno Miranda[/autotag] (16-3) man the other side of the four-man playoff bracket.

The unusual nature of Friday’s fight gained much attention from fans and even other PFL lightweights prior to the announcement Saturday,

2022 PFL lightweight champion Aubin-Mercier, who defeated Anthony Romero in the card’s main event, questioned if the promotion should have two fighters from the same gym compete in the same weight division.

“It was really weird,” Aubin-Mercier said (via BestFightPicks). “I have to be very clear. I understand 100 percent if I was going to fight my best friend. … It would be a fight like this. But at the same time, it’s unfair to anybody else. I think it showed PFL. When I said I wanted PFL to be better, I think it showed maybe we shouldn’t put two people of the same gym in the same category. This stuff can happen.

 

MMA Junkie reached out Saturday to the George Athletic and Entertainment Commission (GAEC), which oversaw the event. The story will be updated to reflect comment if/when it is received.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for PFL 2023, Week 6.

2023 PFL 6 video: Olivier Aubin-Mercier’s knee crushes Anthony Romero for brutal knockout

“The Canadian Gangster” Olivier Aubin-Mercier capped off his 2023 PFL regular season with a devastating third-round knockout in Atlanta.

[autotag]Olivier Aubin-Mercier[/autotag] needed a win in any fashion to reach the 2023 PFL playoffs, and a highlight-reel finish did the trick.

At 2023 PFL 6 at Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta, Aubin-Mercier (19-5) took on Anthony Romero in the main event (12-2), where both fighters were hunting for their spot in the playoffs. It would be “The Canadian Gangster” who punched his ticket by putting Romero out from a brutal knee at 0:28 of Round 3.

The first round was wild to start. In one of the opening exchanges, Aubin-Mercier rocked Romero with a hard right hand. Romero was able to recover quickly and started to return fire. A few moments later, he landed a slick crescent kick to wobble Aubin-Mercier.

In the second round, the fighters struggled to get a solid read on their opponent’s movement, as a series of head clashes due to the open stances caused brief pauses in the fight. Regardless, the fight continued without any point deductions.

With just five minutes to go on the clock, Aubin-Mercier ended things in less than 30 seconds in the final round. While looking for a left high kick, Romero changed levels, resulting in a quick adjustment by Aubin-Mercier to connect with the knee. The result was devastating for Romero, who instantly crashed to the canvas.

Check out video of the finish below (via Twitter):

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Aubin-Mercier has recorded arguably two of his best finishes in his last three fights. In November, he knocked out Stevie Ray with a punch worth $1 million in the second round to win the 2022 lightweight season.

The Canadian lightweight won his first bout of the season, picking up a unanimous decision win over fellow UFC veteran Shane Burgos at 2023 PFL 3.

Aubin-Mercier now heads to the playoffs, where he will face Natan Schulte in the first round. The other side of the bracket will see Clay Collard take on Bruno Miranda.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for PFL 2023, Week 6.

2023 PFL 6 results: 2022 season winners Olivier Aubin-Mercier, Sadibou Sy score highlight-reel knockouts

2023 PFL 6 took place Friday to complete the lightweight and welterweight playoff brackets – and last year’s champs shined with KOs.

2023 PFL 6 took place Friday and MMA Junkie provided live and official results throughout the entire card.

The event featured lightweight and welterweight regular season bouts at Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta. The main card aired on ESPN at 9 p.m. ET following prelims on ESPN+ beginning at 6 p.m. ET.

In the main event, 2022 lightweight season winner [autotag]Olivier Aubin-Mercier[/autotag] (19-5) took on [autotag]Anthony Romero[/autotag] (12-2). Mercier competed for the second time in the 2023 season, following a unanimous decision win over Shane Burgos at 2023 PFL 3. Romero, a 2023 PFL Challenger Series competitor, entered his first regular season bout, hunting for a playoff spot.

In the co-feature, 2022 welterweight season winner Sadibou Sy (15-6-2) took on Shane Mitchell (13-6). Sy finished Jarrah Al-Silawi in the second round at 2023 PFL 3, while Mitchell looked to rebound from a unanimous decision loss to Nayib Lopez.

Full 2023 PFL 6 results include:

2023 PFL 6 official weigh-in results: Main card set, two prelim fighters heavy

Check out the full weigh-in results for 2023 PFL 6, which saw 24 fighters record their offical weight for Saturday’s competition.

All 24 fighters competing at 2023 PFL 6 stepped on the scale, but a couple of preliminary fighters missed their mark.

At Thursday’s official weigh-ins, the entire main card successfully made weight, including 2022 lightweight season winner [autotag]Olivier Aubin-Mercier[/autotag], who weighed in at 155.6 pounds. His opponent, [autotag]Anthony Romero[/autotag], came in at 155.4. The other 2022 season winner competing in the co-main event, [autotag]Sadibou Sy[/autotag], made the welterweight limit by stepping on the scale at 170.6. He faces [autotag]Shane Mitchell[/autotag], who weighed 170.8.

[autotag]Dilano Taylor[/autotag] came in heavy, initially weighing 171.4 for his welterweight bout against [autotag]Carlos Leal[/autotag], who weighed 170.6. On his second attempt, Taylor stepped on the scale slightly lighter at 171.2. Due to the miss, Taylor forfeits 20 percent of his purse and will lose one point in the welterweight standings, but the fight against Leal will proceed.

Brahyan Zurcher also missed weight for his featherweight showcase bout against Mike Bardsley. Zurcher weighed 146.8 pounds and will forfeit 20 percent of his purse to Bardsley, who made weight at 144.4.

2023 PFL 6 takes place Friday at Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta. The main card airs on ESPN following prelims on ESPN+

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Below you can find the full results from the weigh-ins:

MAIN CARD (ESPN/ESPN+, 9 p.m. ET)

  • Olivier Aubin-Mercier (155.6) vs. Anthony Romero (155.4)
  • Shane Mitchell (170.8) vs. Sadibou Sy (170.6)
  • Shane Burgos (155.8) vs. Yamato Nishikawa (155.8)
  • Magomed Magomedkerimov (171) vs. David Zawada (170.2)
  • Nayib Lopez (170) vs. Magomed Umalatov (170.4)
  • Clay Collard (155.1) vs. Stevie Ray (155.6)

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET)

  • Carlos Leal (170.6) vs. Dilano Taylor (171.2)*
  • Raush Manfio (156) vs. Natan Schulte (156)
  • Alexander Martinez (156) vs. Bruno Miranda (155.8)
  • Jarrah Al-Silawi (170.8) vs. Solomon Renfro (169.4)
  • Mike Bardsley (144.4) vs. Brahyan Zurcher (146.8)**
  • Abdullah Al-Qahtani (144.8) vs. Lamar Brown (146)

* Taylor weighed in at 171.4 on the first attempt. Due to the miss, he will forfeit 20 percent of his purse to Leal.
** Zurcher missed weight and will forfeit 20 percent of his purse to Bardsley.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for PFL 2023, Week 6.

UFC veterans in MMA and bareknuckle boxing action June 23-25

Check out which veterans of the UFC are in combat sports action across the globe this weekend.

This week, the UFC returns to Jacksonville, Fla. for UFC on ABC 5.

The event at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena features a featherweight main event between [autotag]Josh Emmett[/autotag] and [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag].

Elsewhere, many other combat sports events are taking place that feature a number of familiar names that have competed under the UFC banner.

This week, there are a total of 16 veterans of the global MMA leader competing in MMA and bareknuckle boxing this week from June 23-25.

Check out the names and details about their bouts below.

Upcoming event information from Tapology.

Anthony Romero says Olivier Aubin-Mercier not just fighting a nobody at 2023 PFL 6: ‘I’ve been in this game for a while’

Anthony Romero plans on introducing himself in a big way at 2023 PFL 6.

[autotag]Anthony Romero[/autotag] plans on introducing himself in a big way at 2023 PFL 6.

Romero (12-1) meets 2022 PFL lightweight champion [autotag]Olivier Aubin-Mercier[/autotag] (18-5) in the main event on June 23 at Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta.

Romero was victorious on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2020, but he wasn’t awarded a UFC contract. The UFC president encouraged other promotions to pick up then-unbeaten Romero, who eventually found himself competing in the PFL Challenger Series this past February. Unfortunately for Romero, that wasn’t enough to award him a contract either, until he got the call to face Aubin-Mercier – an opportunity he isn’t taking lightly.

“The goal is to win,” Romero told MMA Junkie Radio. “Regardless of what outside situations there are for other guys, I love to play my style, and if I have to go out there and get the six points and give everything I got, then I’ll do my best. A lot of people are like, ‘Oh, you don’t have much to lose.’ Yeah, I don’t, but I love to win.

“That’s the problem is I don’t want to go out there and just try and then fail. I want to go out there and give everything I got, put my heart into this game, and I’m not going there to just allow him to go to the playoffs and he’s just fighting this nobody. I’m somebody. I’ve been in this game for a while. Like I said, six points is great, but the win is sweet for me.”

Aubin-Mercier is unbeaten since joining the PFL, using a grappling heavy approach for the most part to suffocate his opponents. While Romero doesn’t view Aubin-Mercier as the most entertaining fighter, he credits him for his IQ.

“He plays a very smart game,” Romero said. “The rules of the PFL play in his favor against guys – especially guys coming from the UFC, they’re kind of taught to be entertaining and look for the big finishes, take risks.

“You hear Dana all the time crapping on people about not looking for the finish, just playing it safe, and I feel like OAM (Aubin-Mercier) does that. He plays it safe to get those points and make it to the playoffs and not take those big risks. Who knows what his plan is now, but I’m expecting the best guy as my opponent.”

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Olivier Aubin-Mercier thinks Natan Schulte is ‘the guy to beat’ in 2023 PFL season

Reigning PFL lightweight champ Olivier Aubin-Mercier got past one stern test, but thinks his biggest still lies ahead.

Reigning PFL lightweight champion [autotag]Olivier Aubin-Mercier[/autotag] got past one stern test but thinks his biggest still lies ahead.

Aubin-Mercier (18-5) spoiled Shane Burgos’ promotional debut when he defeated him by unanimous decision in the season opener at 2023 PFL 3 in April. Aubin-Mercier views Burgos as one of the best fighters this season, but not better than 2018 and 2019 PFL lightweight champ [autotag]Natan Schulte[/autotag] (24-5-1), who Aubin-Mercier edged out by split decision last April. Schulte also notched three points to kick off his 2023 PFL campaign when he defeated Stevie Ray.

“I wouldn’t say the biggest threat, but one of the biggest threats yeah,” Aubin-Mercier told MMA Junkie Radio on Burgos. “I still think Natan Schulte is the guy to beat this year, but there were two guys to beat I think, and it was Natan and it was Burgos. I think I have one more big guy to beat.”

Aubin-Mercier is unbeaten since joining PFL in 2021, making him the current lightweight to beat. But the Canadian fighter views each fight separately and admits he expected to have a tougher time against fellow UFC alum Burgos.

“I don’t see it as a title defense, but it went good anyway,” Aubin-Mercier said. “It was three rounds, so I wouldn’t count that as a title defense. It was good. It was easier than I thought, and I feel great.”

Aubin-Mercier’s next assignment comes against Anthony Romero at 2023 PFL 6 on June 23 at Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta. On the same night, Schulte meets 2021 PFL champion Raush Manfio.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for 2023 PFL 6.

MMA Junkie Radio #3364: Olivier Aubin Mercier joins the show, Dana White and Aljamain Sterling, more

Check out the latest episode of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze.”


Thursday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here.

On Episode 3,364, the boys bring on guest [autotag]Olivier Aubin Mercier[/autotag] to discuss his run toward another PFL championship. The fellas also discuss the back and forth between UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling and president Dana White, and much more. Tune in!

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Olivier Aubin-Mercier happy to see 2022 PFL champs beat UFC signings: ‘Hell yeah, it feels better’

Olivier Aubin-Mercier is glad to see PFL talent triumph over the recent UFC signings.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Olivier Aubin-Mercier[/autotag] feels the start to the 2023 PFL season has proved that PFL has talent.

In the first three events of the year, 2022 champions Rob Wilkinson, Brendan Loughnane and Aubin-Mercier (18-5) himself all defeated the recent signings that came over from the UFC. Wilkinson and Loughnane beat former UFC title challengers Thiago Santos and Marlon Moraes respectfully, and on Friday evening, Aubin-Mercier outpointed [autotag]Shane Burgos[/autotag] at 2023 PFL 3.

The event took place at The Theater at Virgin Hotels. The main card aired on ESPN following prelims on ESPN+.

Aubin-Mercier defeated Burgos (15-4) in a unanimous decision, winning 30-27 across all judges’ scorecards.

“I want to apologize for Loughnane, Razor and myself for beating all the big signings,” Aubin-Mercier told reporters at the 2023 PFL 3 post-fight press conference with a smirk. “Sorry, PFL. I know you paid a lot of money for those three guys, and we killed them. I’m sorry.”

Aubin-Mercier feels this proves that PFL has talent and that former UFC fighters need to realize there’s quality within other promotions.

“Hell yeah, it feels better,” Aubin-Mercier said. “We did our job. All the champs won and beat the big signings. It’s great for us, and it proves that we’re still here. We’re motivated, and I do think Shane was the most dangerous of the three. He’s still young, he still has that free in him, and he’s a fan favorite. Unfortunately, I canceled his game plan, but I’m really proud of this win. This is probably the biggest win of my career if you think about it.”

As far as on a personal note, Aubin-Mercier thinks this is likely the biggest win of his career.

“For sure, it’s a top three,” Aubin-Mercier said. “I had a good win against Drew Dober and people like this, but I do think that Shane is the most well known of them all.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for PFL 2023, Week 3.