UFC on ESPN 65: Brad Tavares vs. Gerald Meerschaert Prediction for Tomorrow, 04/05/25

The second fight on the Main Card at UFC on ESPN 65 will see Brad Tavares take on Gerald Meerschaert. This will be a fight in the UFC Middleweight division. Tavares enters this fight with an MMA record of 20-11 and 15-10 in the UFC. He averages 3.43 significant strikes per minute and has a striking accuracy of 43%. Tavares absorbs 3.31 strikes and has a striking defense of 55%. His grappling is also decent, averaging 0.74 takedowns every 15 minutes. He has a takedown accuracy of 26% and a takedown defense of 80%.

Meerschaert enters this fight with an MMA record of 37-18 and 12-10 in the UFC. He averages 3.10 significant strikes per minute and has a striking accuracy of 45%. Meerschaert absorbs 3.45 strikes and has a striking defense of 53%. His grappling has also been solid, averaging 2.01 takedowns every 15 minutes and 1.5 submission attempts during the same period. His takedown accuracy is 35%, and his takedown defense is 42%.

With Tavares set as the heavy favorite, we will instead be looking for this fight to end inside the distance. Tavares has seen 2 of his last 4 UFC fights end inside the distance, while Meerschaert has seen 5 of his last 6 UFC fights do the same. Because of this, backing this fight to end inside the distance will be our best bet.