The MMA Daily

We have an entertaining fight in the Middleweight division, as Gerald Meerschaert takes on Bruno Silva. Coming off a loss to Krzysztof Jotko, which halted a three-fight win streak, Meerschaert returns to the octagon looking to rebound. Still seeking to crack the divisions top fifteen, with a victory, Meerschaert could potentially command a ranked fight next. Meanwhile, Silva is coming off a loss to Alex Pereira. Which in hindsight, doesn’t appear all that bad given Pereira is challenging the Champion Israel Adesanya for the belt. However, a victory over Pereira could of landed Silva a spot in the top fifteen and extended his win streak to eight.

This fight should be a doozy, as I see two likely scenario’s. One, Meerschaert gets this fight to the ground and his grappling edge leads to his twenty-seventh submission victory. A scenario with legs, given Silva has lost five of his seven defeats via submission. Also, Silva, despite a 68% takedown defense, was taken down seven times by Andrew Sanchez. Two, Silva keeps the fight upright long enough to land his twentieth knockout. A real possibility, given the amount of punishment Meerschaert has taken during his forty-nine professional fights. Also, Meerschaert has been stopped via strikes in two of his last three losses – with both coming under 75 seconds.

A tough prediction anyway you slice it, I’m going to side with Silva. With the obvious takedown and submission defense concerns, there is a real chance the Brazilian gets out-classed. However, all it takes is one-punch with Silva’s knockout power. Knowing Meerschaert has a semi-questionable chin, I’m willing bank on Silva landing a heavy blow before Meerschaert locking in a submission. With that said, I predict Silva to win via knockout.