What Jacob Malkoun changes

Middleweight grapplers are poised to throw down, with Jacob Malkoun welcoming Gerald Meerschaert to "The Land Down Under. Jacob Malkoun has emerged this Saturday as one of the stories drawing attention in New Zealand.

Key facts

• Middleweight grapplers are poised to throw down, with Jacob Malkoun welcoming Gerald Meerschaert to "The Land Down Under.
• Fresh off relieving Torrez Finney of his “0”, Jacob Malkoun (9-3) looked excellent last time out, easily busting “The Punisher” up on the feet and nullifying his wrestling game across three rounds to earn a dominant decision.
• The 58-fight veteran missed weight for the first time in his career on Friday, coming in at 190 pounds at the UFC Perth official weigh-ins for his middleweight bout against Jacob Malkoun.
• His bout with Jacob Malkoun proceeds at a catchweight with Meerschaert forfeiting 30 percent of his purse as penalty.
• Jacob Malkoun vs Gerald Meerschaert (Middleweight).

What we know

Going deeper, Fresh off relieving Torrez Finney of his “0”, Jacob Malkoun (9-3) looked excellent last time out, easily busting “The Punisher” up on the feet and nullifying his wrestling game across three rounds to earn a dominant decision.

On the substance, the 58-fight veteran missed weight for the first time in his career on Friday, coming in at 190 pounds at the UFC Perth official weigh-ins for his middleweight bout against Jacob Malkoun.

Beyond the headlines, his bout with Jacob Malkoun proceeds at a catchweight with Meerschaert forfeiting 30 percent of his purse as penalty.

More precisely, Jacob Malkoun vs Gerald Meerschaert (Middleweight).

It is worth noting that Jacob Malkoun: "Mamba" looks to score the biggest win of his UFC tenure.

By the numbers

At this stage, Even if Meerschaert’s chin wasn’t completely shot at this point in proceedings, Malkoun doesn’t even need to send “GM3” astral traveling in order to decisively win any sort of standup battle.

On a related note, With Meerschaert coming in four pounds over the non-title limit, his bout with Malkoun proceeds at a catchweight with “GM3” forfeiting 30 percent of his purse as penalty.

Going deeper, Gerald Meerschaert: "GM3" makes the walk for what could be his final appearance in the UFC.

On the substance, Owner of the most submission victories in UFC middleweight history and a veteran of more than 50 professional fights, Gerald Meerschaert (37-21) is as battle-tested as they come at 185 pounds.

The wider context

On a related note, despite losing his UFC debut via devastating KO, Malkoun has had a quietly impressive run since; he’s only lost to top contender Brendan Allen and been DQ’d against Cody Brundage in since joining the promotion.

Going deeper, an excellent grappler with slick scrambles, Malkoun isn’t the heaviest hitter in the world, but he’s still managed to score wins over notoriously heavy handed fighters like Abdul Razak Alhassan.

On the substance, while Malkoun is unlikely to nuke Meerschaert out cold on the feet, he’s got a significant edge when it comes to the stand up in this one. “Mamba’s” striking looked great against Finney, with the Aussie’s crisp jab and combinations seemingly landing on the American at will.

Beyond the headlines, I think this could end up looking a lot like Meerschaert’s last contest against Kyle Daukaus, with Malkoun landing a big shot in the early goings and locking in a choke before the dazed American can regain his senses.

More precisely, Meerschaert is currently on a four fight losing streak, with his record standing at just 3-7 across his last ten.

The bottom line

• The 58-fight veteran missed weight for the first time in his career on Friday, coming in at 190 pounds at the UFC Perth official weigh-ins for his middleweight bout against Jacob Malkoun.
• His bout with Jacob Malkoun proceeds at a catchweight with Meerschaert forfeiting 30 percent of his purse as penalty.
• Despite losing his UFC debut via devastating KO, Malkoun has had a quietly impressive run since; he’s only lost to top contender Brendan Allen and been DQ’d against Cody Brundage in since joining the promotion.