Shane Burgos still bothered by PFL debut loss to Olivier Aubin-Mercier: 'I pride myself in being an exciting fighter'

Shane Burgos’ PFL debut loss left a sour taste in his mouth.

Burgos (15-4) was suffocated by 2022 PFL lightweight champion Olivier Aubin-Mercier in their season opener at 2023 PFL 3 in April, which didn’t sit well with him. He was outpointed in a unanimous decision loss.

Burgos is known for his exciting style, but was slowed down when he failed to fend Aubin-Mercier off of him.

“I hated that last one – obviously because I lost,” Burgos told MMA Junkie Radio. “But it wasn’t an exciting fight, and that pisses me off. That really irked me. I pride myself in being an exciting fighter, being somebody the fans always want to watch. I wouldn’t want to watch that. That sucked, man. It wasn’t fun. It wasn’t exciting. Maybe the last 25 seconds were exciting, but not for a 15-minute fight.”

Burgos will look to keep his playoff hopes alive when he meets Yamato Nishikawa (21-4-6) at 2023 PFL 6 on June 23 at Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta. Nishikawa also lost his first fight, so Burgos is banking on both men being eager for a quick finish, which should deliver an exciting fight.

“I was pissed about (the first loss), so going into the next one, I am carrying a little bit of that – but I don’t need to carry too much of it because I know the guy I’m fighting, he’s in the same position I am,” Burgos said. “We both need a win. We both need a win by finish, basically.

“So I know he’s not going to be coming into that one looking to stall, and just run the clock. I fully expect him to try and take me out, which – that’s what I want. I want that kind of fight. I want that guy that’s going to come in here try to kill because that’s exactly what I’m trying to do.”