„Maybe it could have been a little bit ‘cleaner’ a victory, but I fought a really, really tough guy who was on a hot streak and I ended up coming away with a decisive win. And I got a third one set up in the same year, and I think having that big layoff after dropping two in a row and just letting my mind and my body heal probably helped a lot in setting me up to have one of the best years of my fighting career so far.”
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In 2020, Meerschaert got off to a fast start with a victory over Deron Winn, but consecutive knockout defeats at the hands of Ian Heinisch and Khamzat Chimaev cut that momentum off quickly. And though seven months away from the Octagon isn’t the longest break anyone has had, it was enough for Meerschaert to reset and for him and his wife Kerrielle to welcome their son Bronx into the world. Yeah, 2021 has not been bad at all for the best saxophone player in the UFC.
About the only negative thus far is that he had to train while the rest of the world enjoyed Thanksgiving and the holiday treats that are a no-no for someone who has to step on a scale and make weight for work. Then again, he’s used to that.
“It seems like I always fight either just before or right around the holidays,” he said. “Last year was the first time in a while that I didn’t. For some reason, local shows in Wisconsin always do shows the day before or after Thanksgiving. I think it has something to do with our deer hunting season – it either just kicks off or ends right around then. So all these years, I fight the day after, and I’m like, really, we couldn’t fight a couple days earlier. But I think this is the first time I fought on the actual day of my birthday, and my birthday’s exactly a week before Christmas, so I’ll at least get to have Christmas and New Year’s and all that stuff, so I’m not mad about that.”
