UFC on ESPN: Covington vs. Lawler - Predictions and Picks

#4 Trevin Giles vs. Gerald Meerschaert

Trevin Giles is 2-1 in his UFC career thus far

Quite how this Middleweight contest has made the main card I’m not too sure; Trevin Giles looked like a solid enough prospect coming into his UFC tenure with two straight knockout wins over James Bochnovic and Antonio Braga Neto, but a disappointing loss in his last outing to journeyman Zak Cummings largely burst the bubble – particularly considering Cummings outstruck him prior to his third-round victory.

Gerald Meerschaert meanwhile has shown some potential at times – his body kick win over Eric Spicely was excellent and his surprising submission of noted grappler Oskar Piechota was also impressive. But at 31 he can hardly be considered a true prospect, and back-to-back losses to Jack Hermansson and Kevin Holland – two of 11 career losses - suggest he’s simply not going to make the top fifteen any time soon.

This one could essentially go either way – both men seem pretty porous in defense but strong on offense. In the end, I’m leaning towards Giles largely because of Meerschaert’s experience; any fighter tends to slow down after a decade of action and ‘The Machine’ has been fighting since 2007 now and while he isn’t that old at 31, in fighting years he’s far more banged up than his opponent. Giles is likely still improving at 11-1 having fought for just 5 years, and for me, that should be enough to pull him through. Hopefully, it’ll be an exciting fight given the divisional relevance is lacking.

The Pick: Giles via unanimous decision