UFC-Pittsburgh results: Olivier Aubin-Mercier starts quick, survives late Tony Martin rally

Olivier Aubin-Mercier started quick and survived a late rally from Tony Martin en route to a split-decision victory.

The lightweight contest closed out the FS1-televised prelims of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 116 from PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh.

The two fighters were cautious to start, feeling each other out from range. Aubin-Mercier did well from the outside, though Martin also found some success when jumping in and out of range. Aubin-Mercier eventually pressed inside, and though Martin defended well to start, his opponent’s continued efforts did get the fight to the floor. Martin did crawl relatively quickly back to his feet, and the round ended there.

Aubin-Mercier pushed forward to start the second, missing an early takedown but pressing the action to the cage and successfully getting it to the floor shortly after. Martin was active from his back, looking for opportunities to escape, but Aubin-Mercier controlled the positioning through most of the frame.

The action started quickly in the third, and Martin latched on to the neck, looking first for a guillotine and then a potential D’Arce choke, but Aubin-Mercier pulled free. Still, Martin maintained a dominant position and eventually moved around to the back, where he tried to find a way to sink in a rear-naked choke. Aubin-Mercier defended that option well, but Martin peppered in punches in spots and stayed in position until the final bell.

With Rounds 2 and 3 clear, the result came down to a closer opening frame. In the end, two of the three judges leaned Aubin-Mercier, earning him a split-decision win.

Aubin-Mercier (10-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) now owns a three-fight winning streak. Martin (12-4 MMA, 4-4 UFC) sees his own three-fight run snapped.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 116 results include:

• Olivier Aubin-Mercier def. Tony Martin via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
• Daniel Spitz def. Anthony Hamilton via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 0:24
• Uriah Hall def. Krzysztof Jotko via knockout (punches) – Round 2, 2:25
• Gilbert Burns def. Jason Saggo via knockout (punch) – Round 2, 4:55

For more on UFC Fight Fight 116, check out the UFC Events section of the site.