Middleweights
Trevin Giles (11-1) vs. Gerald Meerschaert (28-11)Advertisement
Texas’ Giles has some promise as a prospect, though it is difficult to tell what to make of him just yet. “The Problem” had quite the successful 2017 campaign, making a late-notice UFC debut at light heavyweight and then cutting back down to 185 pounds for an impressive finish of Antonio Braga Neto. Then Giles made the decision to take 2018 off in order to become a police officer, leaving some curiosity about how he would look against Zak Cummings upon his return in May. That fight was a mixed bag. On the plus side, he remains a strong athlete and a precise striker, but Cummings managed to bring out a lot of issues that may plague Giles as he moves up the ladder. Giles does not appear to be much of a defensive wrestler, but it was more concerning that Cummings managed to shut down a lot of the best parts of Giles’ offensive game. Giles pieced up Neto at will, but faced with someone who could crack in Cummings, he adopted a much more patient and conservative approach that left him unable to make much of a mark on the fight. It was a slow and narrow affair until Cummings scored a sudden third-round finish. Giles is left to answer some questions surprisingly early into his career, and Meerschaert is exactly the type of tough opponent to help that process along.
Meerschaert earned his way to the Octagon after 33 career bouts, so it is no surprise that he instantly slotted into a middleweight gatekeeper role on the roster. Meerschaert is a non-athlete by UFC standards, but he has done well to bring the fight to every opponent in an attempt to exploit their weaknesses. That has gotten Meerschaert some impressive wins -- beyond his submission skills, he obliterated Eric Spicely with a kick to the body -- but there is a clear delineation between his wins and his losses. Every attempt to move Meerschaert up the ladder against better athletes has resulted in a one-sided loss. For that reason alone, a win over Giles would be a nice feather in his cap.
There is a lot in this style matchup that favors Meerschaert, namely that Giles’ defensive grappling does not seem all that great and there are some questions about how he responds to someone constantly trying to pressure him. At the same time, that clear line in Meerschaert’s UFC resume is impossible to ignore. Against anyone with any speed or explosive ability as an athlete, Meerschaert just has not been able to keep up. If Meerschaert is able to get the win, it could result from a quick and one-sided submission. However, the call is for Giles to outmaneuver the Roufusport rep, keep him at bay and tag him with punches on his way to a third-round stoppage.
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