Gerald Meerschaert Jumps to 205 to Snap a Five-Fight Skid

Gerald Meerschaert is packing his bags for light heavyweight. Sources confirmed the 59-fight veteran will meet Julius Walker at the UFC's Oct. 10 Fight Night card, expected to land at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas — a fresh start at 205 pounds after a rough stretch at 185.

How rough? Meerschaert (37-22, 29 by submission) has lost five in a row, his longest slide in a career that dates back well over a decade. His last win came almost two years ago, when he tapped Edmen Shahbazyan in the second round in August 2024. Since then it's been all downhill, capped by a unanimous-decision loss to Jacob Malkoun at UFC Perth in May, where the 38-year-old also missed weight by four pounds.

Why the Move Makes Sense

That missed weight tells its own story. Draining down to middleweight clearly wasn't doing "GM3" any favors, and moving up a division is the kind of reset that can add years to a veteran's clock. Meerschaert's game has always been grappling-first — 29 of his 37 wins come by submission, a finish rate that dwarfs his six knockouts — so a bigger frame doesn't necessarily blunt his best weapon.

The matchmaking is friendly, too. Walker is making just his fifth octagon appearance and shows up on a two-fight skid, having been stopped in both of his 2026 outings. The ugliest of those was an eight-second knockout loss to Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev at UFC Baku in June — the kind of result that leaves a fighter's UFC future hanging by a thread.

So this is a genuine crossroads bout. Both men need it badly, which usually makes for the kind of fight where someone leaves everything in the cage. Meerschaert has the experience edge and the submission threat; Walker has the finishing pop and, presumably, the size he's used to carrying.

For Meerschaert, the math is simple. Win, and the light heavyweight experiment buys him a new lease on his UFC tenure. Lose a sixth straight, and even a fan-favorite grappler with 29 career submissions starts running out of room on the roster.