Gerald Meerschaert had dreams of a home-cage early Christmas present a couple years back, but Jack Hermansson had other ideas.
The middleweights threw down in the middle of the UFC on FOX 31 prelims in December 2018 in Milwaukee, where Meerschaert trains at Roufusport. Hermannsson was fighting in the United States for the first time in more than five and a half years. And he left Meerschaert with a bad taste in his mouth.
Hermansson took down Meerschaert early and wasted no time dominating the fight on the canvas. And though Meerschaert tried to find ways back to his feet, eventually Hermansson latched onto his neck and forced him to tap to a guillotine choke with 35 seconds left in the first round.
Saturday, Hermansson (21-5 MMA, 8-3 UFC) headlines a UFC show for the third time when he takes on Marvin Vettori (15-3-1 MMA, 5-2-1 UFC) in the UFC on ESPN 19 main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card airs on ESPN2 and streams on ESPN+. Vettori is a short-notice replacement for Kevin Holland.
Ahead of that fight, check out Hermansson’s masterful work against Meerschaert in the video above. And don’t miss the photo gallery from that fight below.
Video: Watch UFC on ESPN 19 headliner Jack Hermansson’s masterful submission of Gerald Meerschaert