Meerschaert was born in Racine, Wisconsin, United States.[1] He trained in Taekwondo when he was young. He began playing alto saxophone in the fifth grade and through his years at Walden III Middle and High School. Meerschaert later studied music education in college, hoping to become a music teacher, before deciding to make MMA his career after watching some local MMA and UFC fights on TV.[7] Meerschaert began training in MMA at the age of 19.[8]
Mixed martial arts career
Early career
After a 1–0 amateur career, Meerschaert fought most of his fights in his native state of Wisconsin, from 2007 to 2011. He started traveling to nearby states to compete after 2012. Prior to joining the UFC, he was an active fighter with a record of 25–8.[3]
Meerschaert began his professional MMA career in March 2007, fighting at Freestyle Combat Challenge 26 on March 10, after just one month of training.[9] He lost his first fight to Jay Ellis via a technical submission.[10] Two months after his first loss, he bounced back to snap a win via kimura.[11] His third MMA fight came one week later on May 19, 2007, against Will Pace. He won the fight via rear-naked choke in round one.[12]
On January 12, 2008, Meerschaert faced Kenneth Allen and won via triangle choke in round one.[13] Five weeks later, Meerschaert stepped in the cage and competed against Caleb Krull. He won the fight via unanimous decision (29–28, 29–28, 29–27).[14] Meerschaert was back to the cage again four weeks later vs. Alex Carter. Meerschaert won the fight via triangle choke in round two.[15] His last fight in Freestyle Combat was on May 3, 2008, vs. Ryan Scheeper. Meerschaert won via armbar in the first round.[16]
Meerschaert fought Mike Vaughn July 25, 2008. Meerschaert won via first round rear-naked choke.[17]
Meerschaert fought Curtis Bailey October 10, 2008. The fight was held in Madison, Wisconsin on Madtown Throwdown 17. The fight was five rounds, and Meerschaert lost the fight via guillotine choke in round two.[18]
After a busy year in 2009, Meerschaert did not set foot on the cage to compete until May 2, 2009. He fought Kenny Robertson on Madtown Throwdown 19 and lost via a kneebar submission on round one.[19]
He started off by fighting on Gladiators Cage Fighting: Fair Warning on August 15, 2009, his opponent was Jacob Kuester and Meerschaert managed to overpower Kuester and submitted him via a neck crank.[20] On the next fight, Meerschaert face-off Morrison Lamb on Racine Fight Night 5 on November 28, 2009, in his hometown, Racine, Wisconsin. It was a short fight where Meerschaert submitted Lamb via a guillotine choke on round one.[21]
Meerschaert faced Eddie Larrea at Extreme Cagefigting Organisation 4 on March 20, 2010. Meerschaert secured the win via an arm-triangle choke.[22] April 17, 2010, Meerschaert fought in Combat USA 19. Meerschaert punched his way through and knocked out Jim Klimczyk and snatched the win.[23]
His last competition in 2010 was on September 11. He took on Sam Alvey, with a record of 11–1–0, ranking number 1 in Wisconsin in the middleweight division. They competed on Combat USA: Championship Tournament Finals for a five-round title middleweight fight. On the early rounds, Meerschaert attempted multiple takedowns but Alvey managed to stop most of them; however, Meerschaert managed to put Alvey on a guillotine choke on round 5 and secured the win to reign Wisconsin State middleweight 2010 champion.[24]
With the record of 14–4–0, Meerschaert started off his 2011 competition on January 6, facing Dallas O'Malley on Combat USA 24. He won the fight via guillotine choke on round two.[25]
The next fight came 3 months later where Meerschaert took on Herbert Goodman, the former Green Bay Packers football player, defending his Wisconsin Middleweight title on Combat USA: Wisconsin State Finals. Meerscheart lost the fight via a rear-naked choke on round one when he was taken down by Goodman after failing to hit Goodman with his left overhand, giving his back to Goodman where Goodman managed to sink a rear-naked choke.[26]
Six months later, Meerschaert went on to join the Rogue Warrior Championship 3 competition on the welterweight fight on September 6, 2011. He faced Eddie Larrea and won the fight via a rear-naked choke on round one.[27]
Meerschaert did not return to the cage after he lost to Goodman until about one the half-year later when he went on to join the Rogue Warrior Championship 3 competition on the welterweight fight on September 6, 2011. He faced Eddie Larrea and won the fight via a rear-naked choke on round one. The second and also the last fight Meerschaert take on for 2012 was on October 19. He was up against Sergej Juskevic at Score Fighting Series. He lost the fight on round two via kneebar submission.[28]
On January 19, 2013, he took on Anthony Lapsley on a catchweight bout (175 Ib) on Rocktagon MMA Elite Series 23. He lost the fight on round one via rear-naked choke.[29] He next faced Jay Ellis on King of the Cage: Certified on April 20, 2013, a catchweight bout (180 Ib). He bounced back from the last two defeat and captured the win with TKO (punches) in round one.[30] Meerschaert went to Duluth, Georgia, to compete on National Fighting Championships 58 on July 19, 2013. The fight was a 180 Ib catchweight bout. The judges awarded him with the win after three battle against George Lockhart.[3] On September 13, 2013, Meerschaert fought with Nathan Gunn in another catchweight fight. He managed to submit Gunn on round two with a guillotine choke on Canadian Fighting Championship 8 event.[3][31]
Meerschaert moved up to Middleweight (185 Ibs) in 2014 and competed in North American Fighting Championship in two fights. First, he faced Eddie Larrea which he secured a win via arm-triangle choke[32] and moved on to fight Sam Alvey on their second meet up and this time he lost by unanimous decision on judges' scorecards.[3] His last fight in 2014 was in September where he fought in KOTC: Magnum Force against Matt Lagou. He came out with a win via a TKO (doctor stoppage).[33]
Meerschaert aced Keith Smetana at 4BC: Capital City Punishment in June 2015. He won a quick win via TKO in round one. His next and last fight in 2015 came one month later and won via another TKO (doctor stoppage) against Lucas Rota.
Meerschaert started his first fight in 2016 by moving up to Light Heavyweight division (205 Ibs). He fought at Valor Fight 36 and his opponent was Sidney Wheeler. He threatened Wheeler with a kimura and forced him to tap out on round one.[34] His last fight before joining UFC was in October 2016, facing Chase Waldon in Resurrection Fighting Alliance (RFA) in Middleweight bout. He earned the victory via submission (arm-triangle choke) on round one, earning him the RFA middleweight title.[35]
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Meerschaert made his promotional debut on December 9, 2016, at UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Abdurakhimov, replacing injured Oluwale Bamgbose, against Joe Gigliotti.[36] He won the fight via anaconda choke submission in round one. His performance earned him a Performance of the Night bonus award.[37][38]
Meerschaert faced Jack Hermansson on December 15, 2018, at UFC on Fox 31.[48] He lost the fight via guillotine choke submission in the first round.[49]
Meerschaert faced Trevin Giles on August 3, 2019, at UFC on ESPN 5.[52][53] He won the fight via technical submission in the third round due to a guillotine choke.[54]
Meerschaert faced Deron Winn on March 7, 2020, at UFC 248.[57] He won the fight via a rear-naked choke submission in the third round.[58]
Meerschaert was scheduled to face Ian Heinisch on June 6, 2020, at UFC 250, however, two days before the fight Heinisch's cornerman tested positive for COVID-19. Heinisch was pulled from the fight and replaced by promotional newcomer Anthony Ivy. Subsequently, the cornerman in question was re-tested and the initial test was proven to be false positive and Heinisch was reinstated to the card.[59] Finally, Meerschaert faced Heinisch as originally scheduled and lost the fight via TKO in the first round.[60][61]
Meerschaert was expected to face Ed Herman in a light heavyweight bout on August 1, 2020, at UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Shahbazyan.[62] On the day of the event, Meerschaert pulled out due to testing positive for COVID-19 and his bout against Herman was cancelled.[63] The bout was rescheduled for September 12, 2020, at UFC Fight Night 177.[64] However, Meerschaert again withdrew from the bout for undisclosed reason and he was replaced by John Allan.[65]
Meerschaert was scheduled to face Abusupiyan Magomedov on December 18, 2021, at UFC Fight Night 199.[74] However, Magomedov was forced to pull from the event due to visa issue and he was replaced by Dustin Stoltzfus.[75] He won the bout via rear-naked choke in the third round.[76]
Meerschaert was scheduled again to face Abusupiyan Magomedov on February 18, 2023, at UFC Fight Night 219.[81] The fight was cancelled, again due to Magomedov having visa issues.[82]
Meerschaert faced Joe Pyfer on April 8, 2023, at UFC 287.[83] He lost the bout via TKO in the first round.[84]
Meerschaert faced Edmen Shahbazyan on August 24, 2024, at UFC on ESPN 62.[89] Despite being dropped by a body blow and receiving repeated ground strikes, he won the fight via an arm-triangle submission in the second round.[90] With his twelfth UFC finish, Meershaert surpassed Anderson Silva for the most finishes in UFC Middleweight history.[90] This fight earned him another Performance of the Night award.[91]
Meerschaert was stepped in on less than a week's notice to compete against Joe Pyfer at Fury Pro Grappling 7 on May 27, 2023.[94] He lost the match by unanimous decision.[95]
Meerschaert competed against Craig Jones in the main event of Polaris 26 on November 4, 2023.[96] He lost the match by submission with a rear-naked choke.[97]
Personal life
The moniker "The Machine" was coined by his friends after seeing him constantly pushing himself in the gym without really taking any breaks.[98]
