Gerald Meerschaert sits atop the UFC middleweight record books, and he did it in the style he’s accustomed. Meerschaert entered Saturday’s UFC Vegas 96 event as a significant underdog in his main card opener against Edmen Shahbazyan . After a patient first round, Shazbazyan badly hurt Meerschaert in Round 2, and despite eating around 40 unanswered ground strikes, “GM3” was able to survive.
Eventually, Meerschaert landed a takedown before locking in a beautiful arm-triangle choke, forcing Shahbazyan to tap at 4:12 of the second round. Check out video of the finish below. WHAT.
A. COMEBACK Gerald Meerschaert submits Edmen Shahbazyan in the second round at #UFCVegas96 (via @espnmma ) pic.twitter.
com/XbRPjh9ze6 With the submission, Meerschaert surpasses Anderson Silva for the most finishes in UFC middleweight history with 12. After going winless in 2023, Meerschaert is now 2-0 in 2024, which includes a submission of Bryan Barberena . Shahbazyan, once touted as a future UFC champion, has now lost two of three, and five of his past seven octagon appearances.
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