Gerald Meerschaert ended the first round just trying to stay in the fight and stay out of Oskar Piechota’s chokes.
By the end of the second, Meerschaert (28-9 MMA, 4-1 UFC) had successfully turned the tables and then it was Piechota (11-1-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) struggling to stay conscious – and ultimately failing.
The middleweight bout opened up the preliminary card of today’s TUF 27 Finale event at Pearl Theatre at The Palms in Las Vegas. It streamed on UFC Fight Pass ahead of the rest of the card on FS1.
Things didn’t get off to a great start for Meerschaert, despite the eventual happy ending. Piechota dominated the first frame, putting Meerschaert on his back with an early takedown and then dropping him with a counter right hand later in the round.
But after battling out of a rear-naked choke attempt in the final minute of the first, Meerschaert rebounded in the second. Soon it was Piechota’s turn to fend off takedowns and choke attempts, and the pressure from Meerschaert seemed to be taking its toll.
As Piechota faded, Meerschaert turned up the heat, battering him with punches and elbows against the fence, then locking up a rear-naked choke of his own in the final minute. Piechota struggled to defend and last the round, but finally slipped into unconsciousness, bringing an end to the bout at the 4:55 mark of Round 2.
“I felt sluggish in the first round,” Meerschaert said. “He got me a couple of times. I am always looking for the win. He is a very, very tough opponent, but I am very well-rounded. I have a great team behind me and I did what I had to do. I’m now going to have a couple of weeks of rest, and I am going to try and get that analyst spot if I can. Other than that, I just want to do my highlight reel.”
With the victory, Meerschaert has now won two straight in the UFC. Piechota’s loss snaps a four-fight winning streak.
Up-to-the-minute TUF 27 Finale results include:
- Gerald Meerschaert def. Oskar Piechota via technical submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 4:55
For complete coverage of The Ultimate Fighter 27 Finale, check out the UFC Events section of the site.
(MMAjunkie’s Mike Bohn, John Morgan and Ken Hathaway contributed to this report on site in Las Vegas.)