Gerald Meerschaert wants to ‘mess up’ middleweight rankings at UFC 213

Gerald Meerschaert, right, defeated Ryan Janes, left, at UFC Fight Night Halifax on Feb. 19, 2017. (Andrew Vaughan/CP)

LAS VEGAS – Gerald Meerschaert’s UFC career has gone pretty much as well as he could’ve hoped for. Two fights, two wins, two first-round stoppages.

At UFC 213, the 29-year-old Racine, Wisc., native faces Thiago Santos, one of the top knockout artists in the UFC’s middleweight division.

Meerschaert (26–8) has won seven straight and 11 of his last 12 with 19 of his career wins coming by submission. He enjoys being a darkhorse contender at 185 pounds and is hoping to earn a top-10-ranked opponent in his next outing with a victory over Santos.

“From my very first fight [in the UFC] I said I’m here to mess up the whole middleweight division and I meant it,” Meerschaert told Sportsnet. “I’ll round robin everybody. I don’t care.”

One of Meerschaert’s cornermen this weekend will be his teammate Mike Rhodes, a former UFC competitor currently preparing for his Bellator debut.

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