Gerald Edward Meerschaert III (born December 18, 1987), also known by his initials GM3, is an American former professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he held the record for most finishes in middleweight history with 12. A professional from 2007 to 2026, he also competed for the Resurrection Fighting Alliance (RFA), Titan FC, and King of the Cage (KOTC).
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Background
Meerschaert was born in Racine, Wisconsin, United States. 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. Meerschaert began training in MMA at the age of 19.
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.
Meerschaert began his professional MMA career in March 2007, fighting at Freestyle Combat Challenge 26 on March 10, after just one month of training. He lost his first fight to Jay Ellis via a technical submission. Two months after his first loss, he bounced back to snap a win via kimura. 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.
On January 12, 2008, Meerschaert faced Kenneth Allen and won via triangle choke in round one. 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). Meerschaert was back to the cage again four weeks later vs. Alex Carter. Meerschaert won the fight via triangle choke in round two. His last fight in Freestyle Combat was on May 3, 2008, vs. Ryan Scheeper. Meerschaert won via armbar in the first round.
Meerschaert fought Mike Vaughn July 25, 2008. Meerschaert won via first round rear-naked choke.
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.
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.
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. 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.
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. He won the fight via anaconda choke submission in round one. His performance earned him a Performance of the Night bonus award.
Meerschaert faced Ryan Janes on February 19, 2017, at UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Browne. He won the fight via submission in the first round.
Meerschaert faced Thiago Santos on July 8, 2017, at UFC 213. He lost the fight via TKO in the second round.
Meerschaert fought Eric Spicely on December 1, 2017, at The Ultimate Fighter 26 Finale. He won the bout via TKO in the second round. This win earned him a Performance of the Night bonus.
Meerschaert faced Oskar Piechota on July 6, 2018, at The Ultimate Fighter 27 Finale. He won the fight via technical submission due to a rear-naked choke in the second round.
Meerschaert faced Jack Hermansson on December 15, 2018, at UFC on Fox 31. He lost the fight via guillotine choke submission in the first round.
Meerschaert faced Kevin Holland on March 30, 2019, at UFC on ESPN 2. He lost the fight via split decision.
Meerschaert faced Trevin Giles on August 3, 2019, at UFC on ESPN 5. He won the fight via technical submission in the third round due to a guillotine choke.
Meerschaert faced Eryk Anders on October 12, 2019, at UFC Fight Night 161. He lost the fight by split decision.
Meerschaert faced Deron Winn on March 7, 2020, at UFC 248. He won the fight via a rear-naked choke submission in the third round.
Professional grappling career
Meerschaert stepped in on less than a week's notice to compete against Joe Pyfer at Fury Pro Grappling 7 on May 27, 2023. He lost the match by unanimous decision.
Meerschaert competed against Craig Jones in the main event of Polaris 26 on November 4, 2023. He lost the match by submission with a rear-naked choke.
Personal life
Meerschaert earned the moniker "The Machine" after his friends saw him constantly pushing himself in the gym without taking any breaks. In his spare time, he plays the alto saxophone.
Championships and accomplishments
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Performance of the Night (Five times) vs. Eric Spicely, Joe Gigliotti, Bartosz Fabiński, Makhmud Muradov and Edmen Shahbazyan
Most submission wins in UFC Middleweight division history (11)
Tied (Demian Maia) for third most submissions in UFC history (11)
Second highest submission finish rate in UFC history (11 submissions / 12 wins - 91.7%)
Second most submission attempts in UFC Middleweight division history (19) (behind Thales Leites)
Most finishes in UFC Middleweight division history (12)
Highest finish rate in UFC history (12 finishes / 12 wins - 100%) (Minimum 10 UFC wins)
Second most bouts in UFC Middleweight division history (26) (behind Brad Tavares)
UFC Honors Awards
2024: Fan's Choice Comeback of the Year Nominee vs. Edmen Shahbazyan
UFC.com Awards
2021: Ranked #3 Upset of the Year vs. Makhmud Muradov
Resurrection Fighting Alliance (RFA)
RFA Middleweight Championship (One time)
Combat USA Championship