Long-time UFC veteran Gerald Meerschaert explained why he made the decision to retire after a 60-fight mixed martial arts career.
After losing via second-round TKO to Julius Walker in the featured preliminary card bout at UFC Vegas 122, the 38-year-old Meerschaert took off his gloves and told UFC commentator Michael Bisping that he was retiring from the sport after 20 years in it.
Now, we have a better idea of why he laid his gloves down.
Gerald Meerschaert Explains UFC Retirement
Speaking to reporters following UFC Vegas 122, Meerschaert explained why he made the decision to retire from the UFC.
“I’ve been really thinking about it. It was mostly between me and my wife. I kept it pretty close to the chest. I didn’t want any thoughts of that swaying or changing how I did anything with my team. I know we all knew it was going to be close to the last one if it wasn’t the last one. I’m pretty much done. If the UFC came back and said, ‘We’ll give you one somewhere that you think is to your advantage and we want to do something special, I might think about it. But I’ve been fighting since 2007. I spent half my career in the UFC. I got 60 professional fights and a bunch more that aren’t even on the books. I fought when head butts were legal. I’m getting too old for this stuff. This will probably be it for me,” Meerschaert said (via MMAjunkie.com).
Gerald Meerschaert Unlikely to Fight Again
Although “GM3” left a small crack open to maybe fight again if the right opportunity came up, it seems very unlikely that it will happen.
The loss to Walker was Meerschaert’s sixth straight defeat, so even if he changed his mind and wanted to fight again, it would be unlikely to take place inside the Octagon, as he would likely be released given his losing skid.
He told reporters that he already has a post-fight career lined up in air conditioning, so he is going to be busy now that his mixed martial arts career is over after two decades.
Gerald Meerschaert Reveals Why He Retired From the UFC