Shane Burgos sees perks in drawing 2022 PFL lightweight champion Olivier Aubin-Mercier first.
Burgos (15-3) will kick off the regular season against 2022 lightweight winner Aubin-Mercier (17-5) in the 2023 PFL 3 headliner Saturday at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas.
It’s a stern test for Burgos in his PFL debut, but the fan favorite explained why he prefers it this way.
“You can call him the former champion if you want, but I’m looking at him as the current champion because he won the season and hasn’t lost,” Burgos told MMA Junkie Radio. “He’s on a six-fight win streak. Give me that guy right off the bat – why not? I’m fresh going into it. Give me that one right off the bat. It makes sense to me. I love it.
“People are saying, ‘Why didn’t they put you guys in two separate ends of the bracket?’ Who the f*ck cares? (Anthony) Pettis ended up fighting Stevie Ray twice. You’ve seen guys fight each other twice (in a PFL season), so after I beat him, we might fight again, honestly. I’m looking at it as a title fight. It’s a title fight in my eyes.”
It’s taken a few UFC alums, including Aubin-Mercier, to get their feet wet before they’ve found success in the PFL. An ex-UFC fighter himself, Burgos will not only be competing in a new home, but in a new weight class after years at featherweight.
“It’s my first time at ’55. It’s my first time fighting in another organization in f*cking years,” Burgos said. “I had 11 pro fights in the UFC – almost my entire career – so I’m not looking at this like it’s going to be an easy run. And I’ve got the guy who won the tournament right off the bat. … For me, I’m looking at this like it’s the hardest fight of my career, and I’m going to treat every fight going forward as that.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for 2023 PFL 3.
