Julius Walker vs Gerald Meerschaert

💫 Walker opened his career with a 7-1 run, but now finds himself in the midst of his first significant slump: Dustin Jacoby stopped him in the second round, and Abdul Rahman Yahyaev needed just eight seconds to get the job done. Meerschaert, meanwhile, is coming off five consecutive losses and is moving back up to light heavyweight for the first time in years. Still, the veteran’s reputation as a finisher remains intact—29 of his 37 career wins have come by submission.

It’s hard to imagine this one going the full 15 minutes. Walker has to make the most of his speed and physicality, but his last two outings exposed some real vulnerabilities under heavy pressure. Meerschaert, for his part, is almost always hunting for the neck or back if he can get the fight to the mat. Out of a combined 69 professional bouts between them, only 11 have gone to the judges’ scorecards. With that in mind, my pick for this matchup is: under 1.5 rounds.