Gerald Meerschaert retired from mixed martial arts in the Octagon on Saturday night, taking off his gloves after a second-round TKO loss to Julius Walker at UFC Vegas 122 in Las Vegas. The 38-year-old finishes at 37-23 overall and 12-15 in the UFC across 60 professional fights.
Walker stopped the light heavyweight prelim main event with ground strikes at 3:35 of round two, handing Meerschaert his sixth straight defeat on a card headlined by Brendan Allen’s fifth-round submission of Christian Leroy Duncan. After Walker’s post-fight speech, Meerschaert took the microphone for his own goodbye.
“Can’t fight forever,” Meerschaert told UFC commentator Michael Bisping during the interview on the UFC on Paramount+ broadcast. He said he had “a hell of a time” performing for the fans and “can’t think of a better job,” and that he has opportunities to make money for his family and make a good living. He didn’t name a next move.
A record built on finishes
Meerschaert’s final fight came at 205 pounds, a move he said he should have made sooner. “Maybe 205,” he said, though “them boys are big up there.” Walker improved to 8-3 overall and 2-3 in the UFC.
Meerschaert joined the UFC in December 2016 and leaves with the most finishes in UFC middleweight history, 12, one more than Anderson Silva’s 11. His best stretch came in 2021, when he submitted Bartosz Fabinski, Makhmud Muradov and Dustin Stoltzfus in three straight fights, after Khamzat Chimaev knocked him out in 17 seconds in September 2020.
His last win came in 2024. The retirement arrives exactly a week after Court McGee retired following his loss at UFC 332.
