UFC Vegas 96, The Morning After: Middleweight’s Finest Finisher

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How can you not love Gerald Meerschaert III?

“GM3” did it again last night, and everyone knows exactly what that means: he once again landed a slick submission as an underdog. More specifically, he did so after taking a bit of an ass-kicking and looking like he was in a world of hurt. Few play spoiler better than Meerschaert, who once again tapped out a more athletic and younger opponent in Edmen Shahbazyan.

Admittedly, “Golden Boy” has lost some luster in recent years, as his hype train careened off the tracks back in 2020. Still, the 26-year-old boxer is quite good. Strong wrestling, really fast hands, genuine knockout power — he entered this fight having won two of his last three via strikes stoppage, and this bout started in similar fashion.

Shahbazyan won the first round easily. He won the first three minutes of the second easily, dropping Meerschaert with a body shot then firing 100 strikes in pursuit of the stoppage. When “GM3” didn’t go away, however, it took all of 60 seconds for the veteran to throw a big combination, duck into a takedown, and lock up a submission.

Shahbazyan wasn’t that tired. In fact, he landed a big knee just before the takedown! Against most other opponents, Shahbazyan would’ve been able to wait out the final minute of the round and enter the third with a significant lead. Unfortunately for him, Meerschaert is the most statistically dangerous finisher at 185-pounds.

It’s genuinely remarkable how good “GM3” is at stopping opponents. This is hardly the first time Meerschaert has found himself down on the cards and in need of a stoppage. Looking back over at his record-setting 12 Middleweight stoppage wins, I count nearly half of them as being comeback wins.

What’s so cool about Meerschaert is that he’s not a particularly athletic talent. He doesn’t hit extraordinarily hard or have incredible timing like the former record holder, Anderson Silva. His wrestling and kickboxing are thoroughly decent but unspectacular. Meerschaert’s jiu-jitsu, however, is incredibly standout: his 11 submission wins now tie Demian Maia for third-most all-time in UFC history, regardless of weight class. He’s finished opponents via armbar, guillotine, rear naked choke, anaconda, and now arm triangle choke.

Now, I’m not at all trying to argue that Meerschaert is a better fighter than Silva or better grappler than Maia. I just want to give the veteran his flowers. Here’s an unranked 36-year-old 54 fights into his professional career, and he’s still betting on himself to persevere through bad spots and pull a strangle out of nowhere.

What’s next for Meerschaert? The Paul Craig callout was a good one. His fellow grappling specialist may not be ranked anymore, but the Welsh talent remains a well-known name in the division. It’s a good style clash for Meerschaert, an opponent who cannot overwhelm him with raw punching power or wrestling. Likely, the fans are rewarded with some awesome scrambles.

Whether the “Bearjew” match up happens or not, “GM3” isn’t going to break into the title mix. He might, however, be able to continue breaking records and expectations, because the jiu-jitsu black belt has shown no sign of slowing down.

For complete UFC Vegas 96: “Cannonier vs. Borralho” results and play-by-play, click HERE!