UFC Fight Night: Covington vs Woodley: Khamzat Chimaev vs Gerald Meerschaert- Prediction and Analysis

UFC Fight Night: Covington vs Woodley is set to round up the promotion trails in the United States on September 19. The organization will make a return to Yas Fight Island in Abu Dhabi for a five-week-long duration. Chiefly, the final fight card in Las Vegas offers several compelling match-ups that will draw significant attention to proceedings.

A fight that has drawn eyeballs in the lead-up sees middleweight prospect Khamzat Chimaev square off against Gerald Meerschaert. The narrative surrounding the bout has fans excited as the UFC made the unprecedented move of targeting Chimaev for two bookings. The grizzly veteran in ‘GM3’ felt extremely slighted by the move and will enter the bout with a chip on his shoulder.

‘Borz’ Chimaev has looked unstoppable in his UFC outings and barely suffered any damage in two fights. Fight fans and pundits are pining to see whether the 8-0 fighter can handle the step up in competition. Furthermore, Chimaev has garnered massive attention because he fought two opponents in 10 days in different weight classes.

UFC Fight Night: Khamzat Chimaev vs Gerald Meerschaert-Analysis

The undefeated Swedish-Russian fighter has an imposing presence on the ground coupled with explosive striking. He manages to weaponize pace from the early moments of the fight and uses high-level grappling techniques. His short pro career has seen excellent use of the famed “Dagestani Handcuffs” made popular by Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Gerald Meerschaert is a 44-fight veteran via Sherdog who has seen everything that high caliber MMA has to offer. Additionally, he offers a compelling opposition to Khamzat’s grappling heavy style with his own prowess on the ground. ‘GM3‘ is a tyrant in the 185-pound division when it comes to submissions on the ground.

The stylistic elements of the aforementioned fight are largely geared towards a stalemate once grappling exchanges ensue. Furthermore, Meerschaert will have an added incentive to ensure that he slows the pace of the fight and swipes some shine off Khamzat.

A safe pick would be that the fight goes the distance on the cards in a dominant way for ‘Borz’. His control time and the ability to trickle offense from mount should earn him the nod.

Prediction: Khamzat Chimaev to claim a unanimous decision victory