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Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC Don’t tell Gerald Meerschaert he can’t stand with a top level striker. Facing noted knockout artist Bruno Silva at UFC San Diego on Saturday, Meerschaert connected with a stunning left hook in the third round that dropped his opponent to the canvas in a heap. After nearly finishing with strikes, Meerschaert went back to his best weapon as he snatched a guillotine choke that eventually forced Silva to tap out, which ended the fight at 1:39 in the third round. The victory ended up as Meerschaert’s 27th career finish by submission. “Bruno’s a tough guy,” Meerschaert said. “He did a real good job ducking at first. I’m a submission guy but I can crack. He was still there so I had to get that neck.” Despite facing a prominent grappler, Silva was the one marching forward with little fear of the takedown as he pursued Meerschaert around the octagon at the start of the fight. Meerschaert was able to stay out of trouble and circle away from the power shots until Silva got a little too close, which allowed him to bring the fight down to the canvas. Meerschaert was heavy on top before finally posturing up and raining down blows on Silva, who was largely just stuck underneath him playing defense. On the restart in the second round, Silva was still swinging with big, wild shots as he looked for the knockout but the inability to set up his shots allowed Meerschaert to move out of the way before he got caught with much of anything. Meanwhile, Meerschaert was concentrating on a well-timed series of kicks to the body before eventually going back up top to the head. Knowing he was likely down on the scorecards, Silva got a little more active with time ticking away on the clock but that strategy backfired as he left himself open to his opponent’s counters. With Silva standing directly in front of him, Meerschaert unleashed the left hook that put the Brazilian down until he latched onto the guillotine for the submission. The win puts Meerschaert back on track following a decision loss in his last outing and he was more than ready to respond to another middleweight who has been asking for a fight against him. “I know somebody’s been calling my name,” Meerschaert said. “Andre Petroski, if you still want some, come get some, son.”

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC Nina Nunes is going out on a high note. The 12-year veteran announced her retirement Saturday at UFC San Diego following a split decision win over Cynthia Calvillo. Nunes removed her gloves and left them in the center of the octagon in a symbolic sign of retirement, then confirmed her decision with interviewer Daniel Cormier. “As a fighter, I think I’ve done what I wanted to,” Nunes said. “It started as a hobby. I got all the way here. I’m going to focus on coaching and bringing up those girls that are struggling right now.” Nunes, 36, added that she wants to have more children and grow her family with wife Amanda Nunes. The two currently have a daughter, Raegan. Other than competing at 125 pounds for the first time, Saturday’s win was a textbook Nunes performance. The striking specialist’s grappling defense was on point for the majority of the three-round bout and she consistently beat Calvillo to the punch in the stand-up exchanges. The win snapped a two-fight skid for Nunes, who hadn’t fought since June 2019. Family ❤️ [ @NinaAnsaroff @Amanda_Leoa | #UFCSanDiego ] pic.twitter.com/N6gxqa89X8— UFC (@ufc) August 13, 2022 Nunes ends her pro career with an 11-7 record including a 5-4 mark in the UFC, with notable wins over one-time strawweight title challenger Claudia Gadelha and Angela Hill.

Rory MacDonald and Dilano Taylor will clash in the main event of PFL Playoffs 2 on Saturday. | PFL MMA MMA Fighting has PFL Playoffs 2 results for the MacDonald vs. Taylor fight card Saturday from the Cardiff Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff, Wales. In the main event, Rory MacDonald and Dilano Taylor will clash for a spot in the welterweight final. Sadibou Sy and Carlos Leal will compete for the other place in the final for this division. The heavyweight finalists will also be determined on the main card. Check out PFL Playoffs 2 results below. Main card (ESPN/ESPN+ at 2 p.m. ET) Dilano Taylor def. Rory MacDonald via TKO (punches) at 3:59 of Round 1 | Fighters react Ante Delija def. Renan Ferreira via TKO (punches) at 4:31 of Round 1 Matheus Scheffel def. Juan Adams via TKO (punches) at 3:45 of Round 3 Sadibou Sy def. Carlos Leal via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-27) Nathan Kelly def. Ben Ellis via submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:45 of Round 1 Preliminary Card (ESPN+ at 12 p.m. ET) Josh O’Connor def. Emran Sakhizada via submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:56 of Round 3 Marcin Wojcik def. Mick Stanton via submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:04 of Round 1 Chris Mixan def. Christian Stigenberg via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) Szymon Bajor def. Ronny Markes via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-27) Post-Lims (ESPN+ at 4:30 p.m. ET) Lee Chadwick def. Przemyslaw Mysiala via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) Will Fleury def. Anthony Salamone via unanimous decision (30-25, 30-25, 30-25) Maxim Radu def. Vojto Barborik via submission (injury) at 1:15 of Round 1. Moktar Benkaci vs. Francesco Nuzzi results in a No Contest (eye-poke) at 4:10 of Round 2

Dilano Taylor and Rory MacDonald | Getty Images Rory MacDonald could be at a career crossroads. The former Bellator welterweight champion and UFC contender suffered a devastating loss on Saturday at PFL 8 in Cardiff, Wales, as he was finished via strikes inside of a round by late-notice replacement Dilano Taylor. Taylor’s upset victory puts him one win away from a 2022 PFL tournament title and a $1,000,000 prize, while MacDonald exits in the semifinals for the second season in a row. That’s four losses in five fights now for MacDonald (23-10-1), a 17-year veteran who has yet to make a major impact in the PFL since debuting with the league last year. His latest setback had at least one of his peers wondering if it is time for “The Red King” should consider retirement. “Damn, PFL has been rough for Rory,” Ben Askren wrote via Twitter. “Drops another one. I know he isn’t that old, but prob time for him to find another [profession].” See more fighter reactions below. Damn PFL has been rough for Rory, drops another one. I know he isn’t that old, but prob time for him to find another professional.— Funky (@Benaskren) August 13, 2022 DELIVERYYYYYYYYYY!!! https://t.co/JZvzHXtBZd— ⚡️Postman⚡️ (@PostmanTaylor) August 13, 2022 what a finish by @PostmanTaylor over the legend Rory McDonald at #PFL Now the PostMan will have a chance to fight for 1 million dollars — Herbert Burns (@HerbertBurnsMMA) August 13, 2022 Man.. that was a beautiful straight right https://t.co/08ZC4KUt1V— Adrian Yañez (@yanezmma) August 13, 2022 Crazy journey for Dilano Taylor. 3 times the replacement fighter - now in the championship. STAY READY #PFLPlayoffs— Kai Kamaka III (@kaiboikamaka) August 13, 2022

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC Gabriel Benitez needed a win badly — and he delivered in spades. Benitez battled Charlie Ontiveros in a preliminary bout at Saturday’s UFC San Diego event. After dealing with some early adversity due to Ontiveros’ unique striking, Benitez was able to get rolling, stunning Ontiveros with a big shot before slamming his opponent to the mat. From there, “Moggly” mauled Ontiveros, transitioning to full mount and finished the fight with vicious ground and pound. Check out video of the finish below: Gabriel Benitez overcomes an early onslaught to TKO Charlie Ontiveros #UFCSanDiego (via @espnmma) pic.twitter.com/uZHJ4mZ9M0— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) August 13, 2022 Benitez (23-10) entered the fight with two straight losses, and a 1-4 record in his five most recent outings. The 34-year-old was stopped by Billy Quarantillo and David Onama in his previous two appearances, but was able to weather the early Ontiveros storm to possibly save his job with the promotion. Ontiveros (11-9) is now 0-3 with three finish losses in his octagon run. The 31-year-old has been stopped by strikes in all nine of his pro defeats.