UFC Vegas 35: Makhmud Muradov vs. Gerald Meerschaert Picks and Predictions

Makhmud Muradov and Gerald Meerschaert face off in a middleweight bout in a main card showdown at the UFC Vegas 35 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. 

Makhmud Muradov is hoping to make a run up the middleweight UFC rankings, and a win in this fight would be a step in the right direction. Muradov comes into this fight with a 25-6 record overall and since coming into the UFC he has won three fights in a row. Each of the last two wins for Muradov have come by knockout. Muradov’s last fight came against Andrew Sanchez in January, and he was dominant out striking his opponent 79-48. Muradov is averaging 5.32 significant strikes per minute while absorbing 2.92 significant strikes per minute. Muradov isn’t very successful getting the fight to the ground, but he is stopping 100 percent of his opponent's takedown attempts. 

Gerald Meerschaert comes into this fight with a 32-14 record overall, but he has been inconsistent as of late, losing three of his last five fights. Meerschaert’s last fight was against  Bartosz Fabinski in April of 2021, and it only took two minutes for Meershaert to lock in a guillotine choke to come away with the victory. Meerschaert is averaging 3.31 significant strikes per minute while absorbing 3.60 significant strikes per minute. Meershaert wants to get the fight to the ground, averaging 2.28 takedowns every 15 minutes, and he is successful on 43 percent of the attempts. Meerschaert also will try for submissions averaging 1.8 submission attempts every 15 minutes.