UFC Fight Roundup: Gerald Meerschaert vs. Joe Pyfer, Brian Kelleher vs. Journey Newson set for April events

Fights come together fast these days, and if you blink, you can easily miss them. In Fight Roundup, we bring you the latest reported matchups to keep you up to date with what’s on the horizon.

All bouts featured have been officially announced or confirmed with MMA Fighting’s Guilherme Cruz, Mike Heck, and Damon Martin via sources with knowledge of the matchups.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Gerald Meerschaert is taking on another fast-rising middleweight prospect.

“GM3” meets Joe Pyfer (10-2) next at UFC 287, which takes place April 8 with a location still to be determined. The matchup was first reported by The Scrap.

A veteran of 50 MMA bouts, Meerschaert (35-15) is no stranger to fighting dangerous opponents with less UFC experience, a list that includes Bruno Silva, Makhmud Muradov, and Khamzat Chimaev, among others. Meerschaert is coming off of a win over Silva and has won four if his past five fights.

Pyfer makes his second UFC appearance following a performance on the 2022 Contender Series that earned him a contract. In his debut, Pyfer scored a first-round knockout of Alen Amedovski to extend his current win streak to three.

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Brian Kelleher looks to stay above .500 when he takes on Journey Newson at a UFC Fight Night event set for April 29.

The bantamweight bout marks UFC appearance No. 16 for Kelleher (24-14), who is currently 8-7 inside the octagon. He has lost two straight fights via first-round rear-naked choke submission to Mario Bautista and Umar Nurmagomedov.

Newson (10-4, 1 NC) also fights to return to the winning track as he fell to Sergey Morozov by unanimous decision this past December. In five UFC appearances, Newson sports a 1-3 record with one no contest (originally a 38-second TKO of Domingo Pilarte that was overturned when Newson tested positive for marijuana).

The April 29 contest was first announced by Newson’s management.

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Lina Lansberg and Mayra Bueno Silva look to make moves in the bantamweight division when they fight Feb. 18 at UFC Vegas 69.

The two are heading in opposite directions, with Lansberg on a three-fight skid and Silva having strung together consecutive wins to go 2-0 in 2022. Ag. Fight was first to report the matchup.

Lansberg emerged as a contender in 2019 with back-to-back decision wins over Macy Chiasson and Tonya Evinger, but has struggled since. “Elbow Queen” has lost her past three fights on the scorecards to Karol Rosa, Pannie Kianzad, and Sara McMann.

Silva needed just 77 seconds to submit Stephanie Egger with an armbar this past August, the Brazilian’s third first-round finish via that technique in her UFC career. The win boosted her UFC record to 4-2-1.

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Khaos Williams welcomes newcomer Rolando Bedoya to the octagon this May.

“The Oxfighter” is set to fight Bedoya (14-1) in a welterweight bout on a May 6 UFC Fight Night card with a location still to be determined. Williams’ management was first to announce the bout.

In six UFC appearances, Williams (13-3) has scored four victories, three by way of knockout. Williams recorded knockouts of 30 and 27 seconds in his first two UFC fights, but has gone 2-2 in his past two fights, most recently dropping a split decision to Randy Brown at UFC 274.

Peru’s Bedoya makes his UFC debut on a hot streak, having won 11 straight fights, with six of those wins coming by way of knockout or submission.