Once upon a time, a fighter with the moniker “The American Gangster" set the MMA world on fire. Chael Sonnen used his brand of degrading his opponents to work himself into three separate title shots, using trash talk bordered on over-the-line at times to keep people talking about him. 

Now, there’s a new gangster on the radar and he’s wearing a fanny pack. “The Canadian Gangster” is an invention of Olivier Aubin-Mercier and seems to mock the idea of him being an actual gangster, earning him plenty of love and attention ahead of his UFC on Fox 30 matchup vs. Alex Hernandez in Calgary. 

“I was at a point where I was not willing to do what everybody was doing,” Aubin-Mercier told the Top Turtle MMA Podcast on FloCombat about the prospect of disparaging those in his division to get fights he wants. 

While plenty of fighters are able to go there when they need it, Aubin-Mercier said it just doesn’t fit with who he is, and for that, he isn’t willing to do it.

“I think ‘The Canadian Gangster’ was a great fit for me,” Aubin Mercier said. “I’m a positive person... I like to laugh a lot. I like to make fun of myself.”

Making fun of his lack of street toughness seems to be working. It not only gives him more social media presence, but it allows the fans to see who he is as well. 

“I can show my personality with this Canadian Gangster thing,” Aubin-Mercier said. “I think people see that and they love it.”

Fans aren’t the only ones getting behind it. Reebok recently released a shirt that shows Aubin-Mercier’s silhouette with a highlighted mustache, a highlighted fanny pack, and, of course, his nickname. 

On top of that, they also have a Canadian Gangster branded fanny pack for purchase. 

And even though this persona allows Aubin-Mercier to show off his personality, there’s an added bonus as well. Being “The Canadian Gangster” allows him to joke about some fairly serious stuff without the world criticizing him for his stance, or even really knowing it for that matter. 

“With the Canadian Gangster thing, I can say things that I was not going to say with the Quebec Kid,” Aubin-Mercier said. “I’m able to talk about [U.S. President Donald] Trump, talk about everything, and people don’t really know if I love Trump or if I hate him. And I think it’s good like this, no?”

So regardless of where you fall on the political aisle, you can still support this Canadian prospect, and fans seem to be eating it up. 

"I think there’s been a pretty positive response actually,” he said. “I’m having fun with that and [fans] are having fun with that too."