This weekend’s UFC Vegas 96 main card will be broadcast live from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, and will feature Gerald Meerschaert and Edmen Shahbaziyan.
The UFC middleweight all-time leader in submission wins returned to the cage with another victory via rear-naked choke, effectively ending Bryan Barberina’s win streak with the promotion. Meeschat (36-17) will look to build on that momentum with another win this weekend against Shahbazyan (13-4).
“I think he’s a good opponent for me, and I think I can put him through his paces,” Meerschaert said in a recent interview with Cageside Press. “I’ll get stronger as the fight goes on. Traditionally he seems to fade, but I don’t expect that to happen. If that happens, I know I’ve been training for a 15-minute fight.”
While Meerschaert is confident he can beat Shahbaziyan this weekend, he remains realistic and level-headed, analysing the areas where he believes he excels while also acknowledging areas where his opponents may have had the advantage in the past.
“I think I have the cardio and grappling advantage, and on paper he has the power and stand-up advantage,” Meeschert said. “We won’t know until we get to the fight. This is the UFC. Everybody’s tough. We’ll see what happens.”
Meerschaert credits her body, more than anything, for helping her continue dancing again and again.
“I still train hard. There are days when I feel like training is much harder than competing, but I know how to train hard and effectively and still keep myself fresh. I don’t think I’m genetically blessed with speed or knockout power or anything like that, but looking back at my career, I can say that my body is strong,” GM3 pointed out. “I’ve been lucky enough to never have a major injury, never been seriously injured in a fight, never broken a bone, so I think the only saving grace is that my body is pretty tough.”
If Meerschaert beats Shahbazyan, he’ll hope to get a ranked opponent for his next bout, and Shahbazyan is likely in the same league as him when it comes to being ranked in the middleweight division. It will be interesting to see who emerges victorious in this fascinating clash of styles.
Gerald Meerschaert will face Edmen Shahbazyan on the main card of UFC Las Vegas 96 on August 24, 2024.
