With his second-round submission victory at UFC Vegas 88, Gerald Meerschaert has tied Anderson Silva’s record for most finishes at middleweight.
‘GM3’ faced fellow UFC veteran Bryan Barberena last night in Las Vegas, with Meerschaert earning yet another submission win in his 53rd professional fight – this time by way of a second-round rear naked choke.
The submission meant that Meerschaert has now tied Anderson ‘The Spider’ Silva’s record for most finishes in the UFC middleweight division’s history, describing the achievement as “awesome” and “pretty nuts.”
Gerald Meerschaert ties Anderson Silva’s all-time UFC record
There were a trio of rear naked choke submissions last night on the main card of UFC Vegas 88, all three of which were sunk in by UFC veterans: Marcin Tybura, Macy Chiasson, and Gerald Meerschaert.
Whilst the headlines will understandably be dominated by Tybura’s enormous win in the main event over Tai Tuivasa, the submission victory of ‘GM3’ deserves its place in the spotlight.
In fact, Meerschaert’s second-round choke is his 10th submission in the UFC, and alongside the impressive victory, the American has now tied Anderson Silva’s record for most finishes in the middleweight division:
- Anderson Silva – 11
- Gerald Meerschaert – 11
- Nate Marquardt – 9
- Chris Leben – 8
- Derek Brunson – 8
“That’s pretty cool, I mean I got the most submissions at middleweight, and I think I would’ve bumped up another spot all time to like fourth or fifth for most submissions at any weight, but tying Anderson Silva, that’s awesome.”
Speaking at the post-fight press conference, via MMAJunkie’s livestream, Meerschaert also noted that “I still have all my wins by finish in the UFC and it’s over 10 wins, which is pretty nuts.”
With a professional record of 36 wins and 17 losses, the American grappler said that “the last win’s always the most satisfying, but that was definitely a good one,” before admitting that the only thing that surprised him last night was the betting lines:
“It’s one of the few times I’ve come out and I was a favorite, almost always I’m the underdog so I was actually kind of surprised to be the favorite…I don’t know why that is, maybe now that I’ve got a mustache that’ll change.”
With the victory over Barberena at UFC Vegas 88 last night, Meerschaert also extends his record for the most submission wins at 185lbs, the joint-eighth most fights at middleweight, and the second-most submission attempts in the division’s history.
So, what’s next for GM3? Well, the fan-favorite chose not to call out anyone in his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping: “What’s next for me Michael is a beer and a nap.” A deserved celebration indeed.