Canadian fighter Olivier Aubin-Mercier maintains his dominance in the Professional Fighters League (PFL) lightweight division. He proved his worth by securing a highlight-reel knockout of Anthony Romero in the main event of PFL 6, held at Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta.

Romero took the upper hand early in the first round by landing a crescent kick, but Aubin-Mercier countered well in the following rounds, securing his mark with a left knee strike to make his way to the 2023 lightweight playoffs.

With this win, Aubin-Mercier remains undefeated since signing with the PFL after an experience of 12 fights with the UFC. This also places him as the No. 2 seed in lightweight, where he is expected to face the 2018 and 2019 PFL champion, Natan Schulte next in the semifinals for the $1 million grand prize.

Meanwhile, Sadibou Sy, the defending champion from 2022, continued his impressive run and knocked out Shane Mitchell via a spinning wheel kick in the third round, securing the No. 2 seed in the welterweight playoffs.

Sy’s persistent kicking game paid off in the co-main event, where he demonstrated his skills in the quest for his second PFL welterweight championship title. He is expected to face Carlos Leal in the semifinals, who he had defeated in 2022’s semifinals.

Shane Burgos’ first season with PFL has not been successful since he did not secure a playoff appearance with his dominant unanimous decision over Yamato Nishikawa. However, the former UFC veteran outclassed Nishikawa with a steady diet of takedowns and ground-and-pound from top control.

He won the match with a trio of unanimous 30-26 scores in his favour. Since he suffered a hard-fought first promotional debut loss to Aubin-Mercier, he needed a first-round finish of Nishikawa for his chance to advance into the lightweight playoffs.

Magomed Magomedkerimov, the 2018 champion and 2021 runner-up, secured the No. 1 seed in the PFL welterweight division by breezing through David Zawada with a first-round TKO. He will be making a strong comeback for another opportunity to win a $1 million check.