The final Gerald Meerschaert record is 37-23, and it will stay that way. Julius Walker stopped the 38-year-old with ground strikes at 3:35 of the second round on the UFC Vegas 122 prelims on Oct. 10, and Meerschaert announced his retirement right after his 60th professional fight.
That number tells only part of the story. Of his 37 wins, 29 came by submission, which makes him one of the most reliable finishers the middleweight division has seen over the last decade, even as the end of his run went badly.
The Gerald Meerschaert record, broken down
Born in Racine and a pro since 2007, Meerschaert closed his career listed with Valle Flow Striking Academy. The Gerald Meerschaert record listed on his UFC.com athlete page reads like a grappler’s résumé:
| Category | Number |
|---|---|
| Pro record | 37-23 |
| Wins by submission | 29 |
| Wins by KO/TKO | 6 |
| Wins by decision | 2 |
| UFC submission average | 1.49 per 15 minutes |
| UFC takedown accuracy | 7% (6 of 85) |
| First-round finishes | 15 |
Only two of those 37 wins went the distance. For a fighter with 60 bouts, that is a remarkable ratio, and it explains why matchmakers kept booking him against rising names: you could not coast for three rounds against him.
A 27-fight UFC run built on chokes
His Octagon career started on Dec. 9, 2016, with an anaconda choke of Joe Gigliotti in the first round. By our count of the fight history UFC.com lists, the UFC portion of the Gerald Meerschaert record finishes at 12 wins and 15 losses across 27 appearances.
The striking detail is how those 12 wins came. Eleven were submissions: rear-naked chokes against Oskar Piechota, Deron Winn, Makhmud Muradov, Dustin Stoltzfus and Bryan Barberena, guillotines on Trevin Giles, Bartosz Fabinski and Bruno Silva, plus an armbar, an anaconda and an arm-triangle. The lone exception was a second-round TKO of Eric Spicely at the TUF 26 Finale in 2017.
Several of those chokes landed in the third round, against Giles, Winn, Stoltzfus and Silva. That pattern says something useful about the Gerald Meerschaert record: he stayed dangerous deep into fights, long after many opponents assumed the threat had passed.
How six straight losses ended it
His last wins came in 2024, a rear-naked choke of Barberena in March and an arm-triangle on Edmen Shahbazyan in August. The next six results dragged the Gerald Meerschaert record from 37-17 to its final 37-23:
- Reinier de Ridder, arm-triangle choke, Round 3 (Nov. 2024)
- Brad Tavares, unanimous decision (April 2025)
- Michal Oleksiejczuk, TKO, Round 1 at UFC 319 (Aug. 2025)
- Kyle Daukaus, D’Arce choke in 50 seconds at UFC 322 (Nov. 2025)
- Jacob Malkoun, unanimous decision (May 2026)
- Julius Walker, TKO, Round 2 at UFC Vegas 122 (Oct. 2026)
The Walker bout was also his first at light heavyweight, and the size gap showed. According to the UFC’s official prelim results, Walker put him on the mat in both rounds and finished from top position after a takedown in the middle of the second. Walker, 11 years younger, picked up his second UFC win and moved to 8-3.
Meerschaert did not drag out the decision. “I’ve had a good run,” he said afterward, noting he had set some records along the way. Niko Price also closed his career on the same prelim card with a first-round TKO of Leon Shahbazyan, so the night ended two long veteran runs. For full context on the headliner, see our Allen vs Duncan preview of UFC Vegas 122.
What people get wrong about GM3
He was not a wrestler who rode top control. A 7% UFC takedown accuracy is low for anyone with 29 submission wins. His finishes clearly did not depend on putting people on the mat himself; the chokes came from wherever the fight ended up.
The Chimaev loss is not the whole story. Many fans remember him for the 17-second knockout against Khamzat Chimaev in September 2020. Seven months later he started a three-fight submission streak over Fabinski, Muradov and Stoltzfus. If the Chimaev chapter interests you, our piece on Strickland and Chimaev’s training history adds background on how that rise started.
The losing streak does not erase the résumé. Any honest read of the Gerald Meerschaert record has to weigh 60 fights over almost two decades against the six-fight skid at the end. Most fighters never get to 60.
Frequently asked questions
Did Gerald Meerschaert retire?
Yes. He announced his retirement after losing to Julius Walker by second-round TKO at UFC Vegas 122 on Oct. 10, 2026.
Who was Gerald Meerschaert’s last fight in the UFC?
Julius Walker. The bout was the 60th of his pro career and his light heavyweight debut, and Walker won by TKO at 3:35 of Round 2.
How fast did Khamzat Chimaev beat Gerald Meerschaert?
In 17 seconds. Chimaev knocked him out in the first round of their UFC Fight Night bout on Sept. 19, 2020.
What Meerschaert leaves behind at middleweight
For newer fans, the Gerald Meerschaert record is a lesson in how a grappler without elite takedowns can still win 37 fights: keep the submission threat alive in every scramble and every round. Prospects who drew him had to prove they could survive a choke attempt late, and plenty could not. He leaves with 29 tap-outs and nothing left to prove.