Georges St-Pierre is an integral part of Olivier Aubin-Mericer’s preperation for UFC 240, but the two did not always see eye-to-eye.
Olivier Aubin-Mercier has his back against the wall heading into UFC 240, so he is calling in the big guns.
‘The Canadian Gangster’ is working closely with former two-division champion Georges St-Pierre ahead of his clash with Arman Tsarukyan in Edmonton on July 27. “I see him two or three times a week,” Aubin-Mercier told Kajan Johnson and Shakiel Mahjouri on the Pull No Punches podcast. “He helps me with movement – I have some problems with my movement – and of course with wrestling, how to control people on the ground.”
Aubin-Mercier asked specifically to train with ‘Rush’ for this upcoming fight. However, the 30-year-old Montreal native admitted he and GSP did not always see eye-to-eye. “We didn’t understand each other for a long time. I’m a very sarcastic guy,” he shared. “I don’t think he understood what I was saying a lot of the time. Now that we know each other better, I think he likes me. I think he really cares about me. He’s helping me a lot these days.” Adding, “I think he thought I was a little bit not nice, maybe.”
Following a sub-minute stoppage of Evan Dunham at UFC 223, Aubin-Mercier looked to be on the verge of breaking into the lightweight elite. Back-to-back decision losses to Alexander Hernandez and Gilbert Burns, however, have demoted him to a fight with Tsarukyan. Aubin-Mercier arguably hasn’t fought an opponent with such little name value since he beat Thibault Gouti in 2016.
“Business-wise, it sucks ass big time,” he confessed. “As an athlete, it doesn’t. That’s the way I have to see it. This guy is going to make me have to evolve. He’s probably the most skilled fighter I’m going to face. It’s exciting as an athlete. But, as a businessman, not really.”
Aubin-Mercier has nothing but respect for his UFC 240 opponent. The same cannot be said about the conclusion of blockbuster media entities like Game of Thrones and Avengers: Endgame: “Dude, I’m that guy. I sit behind the computer – they’re bad – but I’m the same. Even worse. For real, sometimes I open a little bottle of wine and I troll people on the Internet. I’m like the guy from South Park.”
“I won’t spoil anything, but it was bad,” he said of GoT. His thoughts on Endgame were no more pleasant. “Yeah, it was s—t! It was the same thing as Game of Thrones. It was bad! The worse part is Thanos’ part. Last movie, they built up this amazing bad guy—the best bad guy ever,” he explained before entering spoiler territory.
Aubin-Mercier meets Tsarukyan in Edmonton, Alberta at UFC 240 on July 27. The event is headlined by UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway and Frankie Edgar, plus Cris Cyborg looks to get back on track against Felicia Spencer.