UFC Fight Night 54 results: Olivier Aubin-Mercier taps Jake Lindsey in second round

HALIFAX – Olivier Aubin-Mercier wanted to show off his striking a little bit, but in the end, he went back to his bread and butter.

Aubin-Mercier (5-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) got Jake Lindsey (9-2 MMA, 0-2 UFC) to the ground in the second round, then flipped over for a combination of an inverted triangle choke and shoulder lock to force the tap. All five of Aubin-Mercier’s wins have come courtesy of chokes.

The lightweight bout was part of the preliminary card of today’s UFC Fight Night 54 event at Halifax Metro Centre in Nova Scotia, Canada. It aired on FOX Sports 2 following additional prelims on UFC Fight Pass and ahead of a main card on FOX Sports 1.

Lindsey tried to kick early and stayed on the outside as Aubin-Mercier pumped his jab. Aubin-Mercier kicked high, but Lindsey blocked it. Moments later, though, Aubin-Mercier landed a kick to the body before trying to go up high again. A left uppercut and right hand were on the button for Aubin-Mercier and had Lindsey backing up, but able to move back off the fence and out of imminent danger.

But the kicks continued for Aubin-Mercier, and when he finally got in close with Lindsey, he used his judo background to drag him easily to the ground, where he went to work in half guard. Aubin-Mercier backed out and dropped a right hand on the button. When he let Lindsey back to his feet, he was all over him – but it was Lindsey who got an outside leg trip to get on top on the ground.

Lindsey may have gotten some confidence in the first round with his takedown, because 30 seconds into the second round he landed a big right hand that popped Aubin-Mercier’s head back. Not long after that, though, Aubin-Mercier cracked Lindsey with a pair of left hands. He put three more on him a minute later, then tied him up on the fence and dropped him to the canvas.

And that’s when he went to work. Aubin-Mercier wrapped his legs around Lindsey’s head and torqued on his left arm – leaving Lindsey no choice but to tap to a shoulder lock – though the win was announced as one via an inverted triangle choke, despite Lindsey saying he tapped because of the pressure on his shoulder.

Aubin-Mercier got back in the win column after a split-decision loss to Chad Laprise at the TUF Nations Finale in April. Lindsey lost for the second straight time after a TKO loss in his UFC debut in June.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 54 results include:

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 54, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

(MMAjunkie’s Mike Bohn contributed to this report on site in Halifax.)