Jacob Malkoun takes on Gerald Meerschaert in a three-round Middleweight contest on the Prelims of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night card. This event is taking place at the RAC Arena in Perth, Western Australia. Malkoun is 9-3 with three knockouts and has won two consecutive fights in the UFC. He is facing 10-year UFC veteran Gerald Meerschaert, who is making the 59th walk of his professional MMA career.

Check out my best bet for Jacob Malkoun vs. Gerald Meerschaert at UFC Perth.

Jacob Malkoun To Win By Decision (+225)

At the weigh-ins, Meerschaert weighed in four pounds over the Middleweight limit. But the fight will still move forward, with Meerschaert forfeiting 30 percent of his purse. Meerschaert has suffered four consecutive losses, and at 38, his career is most likely coming to an end. His last victory came against Edmen Shahbazyan in August 2024.

Malkoun returned at UFC 325 in January and picked up a victory over Torrez Finney after a two-year hiatus from MMA. In this contest, Meerschaert has the height (6’1″ vs. 5’9″) and reach (77″ vs. 73″) advantage over Malkoun. Although Meerschaert is the bigger fighter, Malkoun’s skills are on another level. Malkoun averages more significant strikes per minute (4.55 vs. 3.01) and more takedowns per 15 minutes (5.81 vs. 1.82) than Meerschaert.

On DraftKings Sportsbook, Malkoun is -1600, the largest favorite on this card, while the veteran is a +900 underdog. If Malkoun uses all areas of his game, he should be able to break Meerschaert down throughout this contest. Five of Malkoun’s previous six wins have come by decision, as he has often lacked the urgency to pick up a finish. Although a finish is possible against the struggling veteran, I’m backing Malkoun to win by decision at +225.