Athletes
Gerald Meerschaert | When Toughness Meets Technique
Middleweight Gerald Meerschaert Is Ready To Play Spoiler When He Faces UFC Newcomer Reinier de Ridder This Saturday At UFC Fight Night: Magny vs Prates
While the UFC is full of elite grapplers, there are very few who have the results to prove just how good they truly are on the ground.
One fighter who does is middleweight Gerald Meerschaert, who’s finished 11 UFC opponents by submission. He’s just one of five UFC fighters in history to earn over 10 submissions (Charles Oliveira, Jim Miller, Demian Maia, Nate Diaz).
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Submitting opponents is something Meerschaert has been doing since his first professional fight in 2007. He now boasts a record of 37-13, with 29 wins by submission, six by knockout and just two wins by decision.
It’s safe to say that every time Meerschaert steps into the Octagon, it’s exciting. In March, Meerschaert earned a second-round submission over Bryan Barberena. He followed that up with a Performance of the Night-earning arm triangle choke finish over Edmen Shahbazyan just two months later.
“I think being active is good as long as you’re healthy,” Meerschaert said.” It’s a case by case basis; MMA is a crazy sport, anything can happen. Knock on wood I haven’t had any crazy injuries or anything to keep me out of training. I feel fresh, I feel I’m rolling one training camp into another.”
In his last fight against Shahbazyan, “GM3” showed resilience, overcoming an early onslaught from “The Golden Boy” to rally and secure a submission win in the second round. One thing you can’t question is Meerschaert’s toughness. It’s a trait he’s always embodied throughout his career.
Gerald Meerschaert Locks In Late Rear Naked Choke | UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs Daukaus
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Gerald Meerschaert Locks In Late Rear Naked Choke | UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs Daukaus
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“Everyone has certain natural abilities that they’re, I won’t say given at birth, but everybody’s better at something,” Meerschaert said. “I’m not the fastest guy ever, I’m not weak but I’m not the strongest guy ever, but I’m tough. That’s the attribute I have, and I’ve worked on that a long time other than skills and everything else. If you can’t win one way, you have to find another way to win and that’s my way to win.”
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That brings us to his newest challenge: Reinier de Ridder. If you don’t know the name, it’s because de Ridder is making his UFC debut. A former two-division champion in ONE Championship, de Ridder is an established threat at 185 pounds and brings a similar, grapple-heavy style to the Octagon.
“[He has] really good jiu-jitsu,” Meerschaert said. “It’s not like a traditional style of wrestling grappling, but he’s very good at clinging to guys, getting a hold of ‘em and getting the fight where he wants it, and he’s very persistent with that. We’ve trained really hard to negate that and implement my gameplan and you’ll see that on Saturday.
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“I don’t know if I’ve ever fought somebody, especially in the UFC, with the straight jiu-jitsu grappling like he has, so it’ll be hard to say,” Meerschaert said. “For any fans that are new to de Ridder, I’d say he’s much more in the direction of a Gunnar Nelson or Demian Maia.”
This is a huge matchup for both men, who are on the cusp on facing ranked opposition with a emphatic victory this Saturday at UFC Fight Night: Magny vs Prates. De Ridder’s been vocal about finishing this fight quickly by submission. While a difficult challenge, Meerschaert feels it would be de Ridder’s only possible chance of getting his hand raised.
“We both want a win, we both want a finish,” Meerschaert said. “I would expect nothing less from him. That’s probably his only path to victory, honestly, and I have multiple paths. Getting a submission would be really nice, but as long as I get my hand raised, I’m happy.
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“I think it would be a good little push in the right direction for right now. After that, I can start talking about fighting guys in the Top 15, for sure.”
UFC Fight Night: Magny vs Prates took place live from UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada on October 12, 2024. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!