Middleweight veterans Gerald Meerschaert and Brad Tavares had never crossed paths through their lengthy fighting careers, but that changed Saturday at UFC Vegas 105.
The main card tilt found both fighters looking to get back in the win column. Tavares had lost two straight, while Meerschaert was looking to bounce back from a loss to ONE Championship star Reinier de Ridder.
If there was a roadmap to victory most assumed would be open to Meerschaert, it was on the ground, with a submission. And though he was willing to stand and trade in the opening moments of the fight, it was under a minute when Meerschaert moved forward, pressed Tavares into the cage, and looked for the takedown. Tavares fought off the attempt, reset, then fought off a second as Meerschaert punched his way inside. Little confidence boosters for the Hawaiian Tavares.
A single leg attempt by Meerschaert left Tavares hopping, but again, “GM3” couldn’t complete the takedown. Solid balance and defense by Brad Tavares, who was forcing Meerschaert to fight standing up. And while the pair would trade head kicks to close out the round, there was little question Tavares had the edge on the feet.
Round two saw Meerschaert a little more desperate to take the fight down. Unable to just lure Tavares into his guard in the opening seconds, he pressed forward, throwing a few wild punches. Still, despite getting Tavares back to the fence, Meerschaert could not get the fight to the ground. Back at center, Tavares fired a front kick up top. And as the round wore on, Tavares again started to show a clear edge in striking.
Round three saw Meerschaert pursue a takedown almost right out of the gate, and he nearly landed it. Even with Tavares staying up, “GM3” stayed on him, keeping the Hawaiian tied up. For the first time in the fight, Meerschaert appeared to have the edge, but after being unable to make much happen for the bulk of the third round, ref Mike Beltran restarted the action with under a minute remaining. Meerschaert would put Tavares’ back on the fence one more time, before he broke free; Meerschaert fired a few kicks before the horn, but it might have been too little, too late.
As it turned out it was. With a unanimous decision victory, Brad Tavares tied Michael Bisping’s middleweight wins record at 16.
Official Result: Brad Tavares def. Gerald Meerschaert by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
