Preview: UFC Vegas 100 ‘Magny vs. Prates’

Middleweights

Reinier de Ridder (17-2, 0-0 UFC) vs. Gerald Meerschaert (37-17, 12-9 UFC)

ODDS: de Ridder (-290), Meerschaert (+235)

The middleweight division is having a fascinating moment, and de Ridder’s UFC debut only adds another interesting potential contender to the mix. A former two-division champion in ONE, the Dutchman can be absolutely lethal on the ground thanks to his combination of skill and creativity, and he had a case as one of the best fighters outside of the UFC through 2022. However, de Ridder’s last two fights under the ONE banner showed that when things go wrong for “The Dutch Knight,” things can start to spiral a bit. Two fights against Anatoly Malykhin saw de Ridder quickly run out of ideas when he was unable to get his wrestling game going on top of being athletically overmatched. The good news is that Malykhin is a credible heavyweight, so de Ridder is unlikely to face that level of physicality in the UFC’s middleweight division outside of a few particular matchups. With that said, the UFC still might not be doing him any favors here, since he draws a crafty veteran in Meerschaert for his promotional debut.

Meerschaert took the long road to the UFC roster, as he had over 30 fights under his belt ahead of his getting signed in 2016. “GM3” has kept up that active schedule since—this now marks trip No. 22 to the Octagon for Meerschaert—and he has carved out a niche as a perennial underdog who still manages to win more often than he loses. Meerschaert is among the worst natural athletes in the division, but opponents still typically need to leverage that advantage into an outright knockout to walk away with an easy night. Meerschaert has made a career out of staging comebacks, often while dragging opponents to the mat to score the finish with a well-practiced grappling game. There are a lot of potential pitfalls for de Ridder, as Meerschaert might be too crafty on the mat to run through quickly and this cut to 185 pounds could affect the UFC newcomer’s gas tank. Still, the lean is that he can still control most of this fight and stave off a potential comeback, even if it might not be pretty. The pick is de Ridder via decision.

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Magny vs. Prates
De Ridder vs. Meerschaert
Sopai vs. Turcios
Robertson vs. Pinheiro
Abdul-Malik vs. Todorovic
The Prelims