For the second straight bout, Canadian lightweight Olivier Aubin-Mercier will stand opposite the cage from a different opponent than the one he was originally slated to face, when he takes on Carlos Diego Ferreira on the prelims of UFC Fight Night New Jersey.  Catch the UFC Fight Night New Jersey prelims on TSN2 at 5pm et/3pm pt.

Aubin-Mercier was scheduled to fight Joaquim Silva before an injury forced him off the card.  The Montreal native is comfortable with the change and excited to face the new challenger.

“I’m happy with this fight, nothing against Silva but he was the same guy that I’ve already fought, a striker that wants to stand up if I take him down,” Aubin-Mercier told TSN.ca. “Now, this guy is a brawler that if I go to ground with him is going to try to choke me out or arm bar me or leg lock me, so it’s going to be something really interesting.  I’m looking forward to the fight.”

Prior to his unanimous decision victory over Tony Sims in August, Aubin-Mercier was scheduled to fight Chris Wade before an injury derailed that matchup as well.

While you might think switching streams and preparing for a new fighter could throw off training, the 26-year-old did not miss a beat as he prepared for Saturday’s fight.

“It’s really motivating (to fight a different type of fighter), not saying that it wasn’t going to be motivating to fight Joaquim Silva, but when I heard I was going to fight Diego I think I was a little more happy.”

“Every camp I have a schedule and even if I have to change opponents I don’t change my schedule.  The only thing I’ll change is to tweak some techniques I’ve been working on. “

Aubin-Mercier enters the fight on a three match winning streak that includes one performance of the night bonus.  Entering his fifth UFC bout, he sees only a few subtle differences between now and his pre-UFC days.

“I’m not at my parents place anymore, I have a little apartment and the fights are a little more stressful and that’s it.”

Beyond this fight, Aubin-Mercier is hoping to stay busy and find a few more bouts for the remainder of 2016.

“They gave me this fight at the beginning of the year and I’m happy,” said Aubin-Mercier. “I’d like to do three fights this year if I don’t get injured.”