Meerschaert surpasses Silva for most UFC middleweight finishes

One of Anderson Silva's longstanding records has finally been broken.

Gerald Meerschaert submitted Edmen Shahbazyan at Saturday's UFC Fight Night event, surpassing Silva for the most stoppage victories in UFC middleweight history (12). Silva, a former longtime champion and one of the greatest fighters in MMA history, set the record in 2012.

Meerschaert had to mount a major comeback to secure his latest victory, an arm-triangle choke in the second round at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Shahbazyan nearly finished Meerschaert with ground-and-pound shots earlier in the round, but Meerschaert survived and utilized his grappling game to end the contest.

Meerschaert, who has been in the UFC since 2016, is riding a two-fight winning streak, both submissions. The 36-year-old owns the most submission wins in UFC middleweight history (11). He's now 12-9 in the promotion.