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Gerald Meerschaert kicked off the main card of UFC Vegas 88 in style, submitting Bryan Barberena via a face crank in the second round. 'GM3' has now equaled Anderson Silva's record for the most finishes in UFC middleweight history with 11.
After taking his opponent's back, Meerschaert deployed a neck crank on 'Bam Bam' with under a minute to go in the second round. While Baberena tried to hold on and survive the round, the referee stopped the contest after realizing he had gone unconscious.
Watch the submission below:
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Suffice it to say fight fans were impressed by 'GM3's' performance and flooded social media praising the middleweight star.
@tamim_1800 wrote:
"Just how good is Khamzat."
@PittaThird had this to say:
"Rematch him against Khamzat immediately!"
@UFCUFCUFC13 chimed in:
"'GM3' vs. Paul Craig would either be boring as f**k or the most interesting grappling matchup in the UFC."
@The_RngineerMMA wrote:
"He'll get that record. That man dose not like decisions!"
Meerschaert is currently 35-17 in MMA and is 2-3 in his last five. A couple more high-profile wins will likely help him break into the middleweight rankings. While there is a sizeable fan sentiment to rematch him against Khamzat Chimaev following the win, it's unlikely that the match-up will come to fruition.
Gerald Meerschaert's insight into chokes
Earlier this evening, Gerald Meerschaert choked out Bryan Barberena using a face crank and not a rear naked choke, meaning 'GM3's' hand was not under his opponent's chin but across Barberena's jaw while locking in the submission.
During his post-fight octagon interview with Michael Bisping, the 36-year-old explained how he managed to choke his opponent out cold without even getting his hand under 'Bam Bam's' chin, saying:
"You don't need to be on someone's chin to choke them unconscious. It's just that you have to squeeze it really freaking hard."
Catch Gerald Meerschaert's comments below (0:46):
