UFC 287: Gerald Meerschaert vs. Joe Pyfer: Height, weight, reach and stats comparison 

Submission specialist Gerald Meerschaert will take on surging middleweight contender Joe Pyfer in the prelims of UFC 287. The event is set to take place at the Miami-Dade arena in Miami, Florida, on April 8th, and will feature the title rematch between Israel Adesanya and champion Alex Pereira in the main event.

For Meerschaert, the bout against Pyfer will be his 18th octagon appearance while it will be third (including DWCS) UFC appearance for his counterpart .

Gerald Meerschaert stands at 6'11" (185 cm) and as a reach of 77.5 inches. He last weighed in at 185 pounds against Bruno Silva, who he submitted via guillotine choke in the third round at UFC on ESPN 41.

'GM3' made his promotional debut at UFC Fight Night 102, where he submitted Joe Gigliotti via anaconda choke in the first round. Gerald Meerschaert has a UFC record of 10-7 and an overall MMA record of 35-15.

Joe Pyfer is a newcomer to the UFC middleweight division who first appeared in Dana White's Contender Series season 4, in 2020. In his first appearance, his dreams of fighting in the UFC came to a halt following a horrific injury as a result of a slam by Dustin Stoltzfus in the first round.

'Bodybagz' found redemption in season 6 of DWCS in 2022, when he secured a second-round knockout over Ozzy Diaz, where he floored Diaz with a left hook and finished him on the ground with punches.

Pyfer made his promotional debut at UFC Fight Night 210, where he knocked out Alen Amedovski in the first round. Joe Pyfer stands at 6'2" (188 cm) and has a reach of 75 inches. He last weighed in at 185 pounds against Amedovski. 'Bodybagz' has a promotional record of 1-0 (excluding his DWCS win) and an overall MMA record of 10-2.

---

Will Gerald Meerschaert be able to overcome the surging momentum of Joe Pyfer?

Joe Pyfer looks like he's on a mission to take down anyone in his way. 'Bodybagz' might have a chip on his shoulder owing to his first stint in DWCS where he suffered a horrific injury. In his second showing in the contender series, he put away his opponent in the second round to secure a contract.

'Bodybagz' is currently riding a three-fight win-streak (including his DWCS win), and has seven knockout wins in 12 fights. While most of his wins have come by knockout, he has two submission wins in his professional career.

Gerald Meerschaert, though competent on his feet, will have to utilize his superior grappling to offset the onslaught of Joe Pyfer. When he fought Khamzat Chimaev at UFC Fight Night 178, who was a newcomer back then, he was cornered and knockout out within 17 seconds of the first round. He will have to avoid standing and trading shots with Pyfer as much as possible.

Meerschaert's key to victory lies in his grappling. 'GM3' has 27 submission wins along with six knockout victories in his professional record.