26-Fight UFC Veteran Set to Change Weight Classes After 5-Straight Losses

One of the UFC’s longest-tenured middleweight contenders is making a significant change for his next fight.

Following last weekend’s UFC Vegas 120 and the opening event for this year’s Dana White’s Contender Series season on Tuesday, the UFC returns to Philadelphia, PA this weekend for a UFC 330 card featuring two championship bouts at the top of the bill.

UFC 330 will be the UFC’s last real big event of the summer following the likes of the UFC White House card and UFC 329, but in recent weeks the promotion’s fall schedule has also started to steadily take shape.

Gerald Meerschaert Moves to Light Heavyweight at UFC Vegas 122

October will kick off with UFC 332 in Salt Lake City, UT before the UFC returns home to the Meta APEX the following week, and Mike Heck of MMA Fighting reports that the latter card will see longtime UFC staple Gerald Meerschaert move up to light heavyweight to take on Julius Walker.

A veteran of 59 professional MMA bouts and 26 UFC fights, Meerschaert is closing in on the ten-year anniversary of a promotional debut that saw him submit Joe Gigliotti in the first round and secure a “Performance of the Night” bonus.

Gerald Meerschaert (blue gloves) before a fight against Bruno Silva (not pictured) during UFC Fight Night at Pechanga Arena. | USA TODAY Sports

“GM3” started his UFC career with two-straight finishes and has won back-to-back fights in the promotion on several occasions, but his best UFC run came in 2021 when he submitted three-straight opponents and picked up post-fight bonuses for the first two victories during that streak.

Gerald Meerschaert (red gloves) fights Michal Oleksiejczuk (blue gloves) during UFC 319 at United Center. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Meerschaert also submitted Bryan Barberena and Edmen Shahbazyan in back-to-back fights in 2024, but the 38-year-old has unfortunately gone 0-5 since then and most recently dropped a decision to Jacob Malkoun in May.

Julius Walker Has Gone 1-3 Since Joining the UFC

After missing weight ahead of the Malkoun fight, Meerschaert is set to compete at light heavyweight for the first time since his pre-UFC career when he takes on Walker on October 10.

Following a 6-0 start to his professional MMA career that saw him finish every opponent he faced, Walker made his UFC debut early last year and dropped a decision to Alonzo Menifield in a bout that took home “Fight of the Night” honors at UFC Seattle.

Alonzo Menifield (red gloves) fights Julius Walker (blue gloves) in the light heavyweight bout during UFC Fight Night at Climate Pledge Arena. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

Walker rebounded last August when he picked up his first UFC victory against Raffael Cerqueira, but he opened this year with a loss to Dustin Jacoby before Abdul Rakhman Yakhyev also stopped him in just 8 seconds at UFC Baku in June.

Both Walker and Meerschaert will likely be in serious danger of being cut with a loss at UFC Vegas 122, which currently lacks a main event but features a handful of confirmed and reported bouts.

UFC Vegas 122 Fight Card

Malcolm Wellmaker vs. Otari Tanzilovi

Matheus Camilo vs. Jai Herbert

Francisco Prado vs. Artur Minev

Darya Zheleznyakova vs. Alice Pereira

Felipe Franco vs. Alexander Poppeck

Ernesta Kareckaita vs. Melissa Gatto

Julius Walker vs. Gerald Meerschaert

RJ Harris vs. Allen Frye Jr.

Add us as a preferred source on Google