“The Canadian Gangster” Olivier Aubin-Mercier produced a stunning one-punch knockout to floor Scotland’s Stevie Ray and capture the 2022 PFL lightweight championship.
Ray looked to push the pace through the opening round but struggled to land anything of note. Aubin-Mercier, meanwhile, worked well off the back foot and punished Ray’s lead right leg with a succession of thumping low kicks.
Toward the end of the round, “OAM’s” kicks were sweeping Ray’s lead leg clean out from underneath the Scot, while Ray’s attempts to initiate a clinch to take the Canadian to the mat were unsuccessful.
Ray remained focused on the job at the start of Round 2, however, and scored an early takedown before immediately taking “The Canadian Gangster’s” back.
Ray then worked, and secured, a body triangle on Aubin-Mercier and softened him up with punches as he worked for a repeat of the “Scottish Twister” submission he used to finish Anthony Pettis during the regular season.
Aubin-Mercier continued to defend well off his back and eventually managed to escape as the bout returned to the stand-up with 90 seconds of the round remaining.
Then, with Ray looking to push forward and keep the pressure on the Canadian, Aubin-Mercier connected with a perfectly-timed check hook, which knocked out Ray from the moment it landed, at the 4:40 mark of the second round.
It was a spectacular end to the fight, as Aubin-Mercier claimed his sixth consecutive victory inside the PFL SmartCage to pick up the lightweight title and the $1 million prize.
