LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 10: Julius Walker punches Gerald Meerschaert in a light heavyweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at Meta APEX on October 10, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Mike Kirschbaum/Zuffa LLC)
In his 60th fight as a professional mixed martial artist, Gerald Meerschaert moved to light heavyweight, taking on Julius Walker at UFC Vegas 122.
The fight capped off the Fight Night event’s preliminary card, and saw “GM3” the older fighter by 11 years at age 38.
Meerschaert circled on the outside early, with Walker slowly walking the veteran down. That led to a clinch, but Walker wisely didn’t stay there long with the talented grappler. Instead, he fired an elbow (which missed) off the the break, then went to the body. Meerschaert returned fire, but Walker had the clear advantage in size and power. Another clinch resulted in a break after Meerschaert landed a knee a tad low; Walker took just a few moments to recover. Another clinch followed on the restart, with Walker landing a takedown that time.
Walker was able to open up with some punches from there, though GM3 grabbed an arm, and soon had an arm-bar in place. Walker slammed his way out of that, got back on top, and did some more damage before Meerschaert reclaimed guard. Some big elbows from Walker were blocked, a few punches to the side of the head were not. Then it was Walker setting up an arm-triangle choke, though in mount he wasn’t in the best spot to finish it. Meerschaert got guard back again after that, surviving a round that Julius Walker clearly won.
Meerschaert opened round two with a kick, but Walker sooner put him on the fence as he had in round one. Walker fired knees from there, hooked a leg, and easily landed a trip takedown. In half guard, Walker worked to isolate an arm for a kimura attempt, then switched to dropping elbows. Meerschaert looked to sneak a triangle up, but Walker avoided that with ease. Then it was more elbows from Walker, with size clearly playing a difference. Even when GM3 had a chance to escape, he chose to fight off his back. He did get back up with two minutes left on the clock, and winged a few punches to the body. Moments later, he was taken down again. A flurry of punches from Walker, with Meerschaert covering up, finally put the fight away, with the ref calling it after a one-sided beatdown.
Six straight losses likely meant that GM3’s UFC run, and his career, had come to an end. He made that official moments later, stripping off the gloves. In his post-fight speech, Walker promised to give his opponent some mic time, then spoke about mental health, noting that the mother of his daughter had passed, and he was taking the girl to Disneyland.
Gerald Meerschaert then made it official, retiring after sixty pro fights. “I’ve had a good run,” stated GM3, noting that he’d set a few records along the way. “Can’t fight forever.”
Noting that he’d made some money for his family, he finished by saying “Can’t think of a better job. I’m going to miss you.” As for Walker, he improves to 8-3 with the win.
Official Result: Julius Walker def. Gerald Meerschaert by TKO (ground n’ pound), Round 2, 3:35