Kill Cliff KC’s Gerald Edward Meerschaert III sounds more like a European nobleman than an MMA bruiser. But GM3, as he’s called by some, is a Wisconsin-born middleweight with a kind face and a remarkable 35-16 professional record, with 10 wins in the UFC.

He’ll go for 11 UFC victories Saturday at UFC 292: Sterling vs. O’Malley when he faces Pennsylvania’s Andre Petroski in the early prelims.

We asked GM3 about the punch that changed his career. “I vividly remember sparring with one of my first coaches and he dropped me with a hard body shot,” the 35-year-old told us with a laugh. “I wanted to take a break but he said ‘nope, you gotta get up!’ So, I did.”

It might be GM3 saying that to Petroski Saturday.

Meanwhile, in the prelims at UFC 292, KCFC’s Gregory Felipe Santos Rodrigues, 13-5, takes on Denis Tiuliulin, 10-7, in the middleweight bout. We asked Rodrigues about his nickname:

“I was a jiujitsu fighter starting in MMA and I didn’t move very much on the striking area,” he said. “And my coach started to call me Robocop.”

These days the nickname, and the 1987 movie the name comes from, takes on a deeper meaning for the spiritual pugilist:

“Today that means a lot. I’m a Christian and in the Bible for a new man to come to life, an old man needs to die. That happens in the ‘Robocop’ movie, so I needed to learning everything new to become who I am today. And I want much more; and I know always I need to be open for learning something new.”

His goal?

“I want to be UFC middleweight champion, and I want to help the new generation to reach out they goals like I did.”

A win on Saturday might take him one step closer to that ambition.

Also, on the main card Saturday, is KCFC’s undefeated welterweight (12-0) Ian Machado Garry taking on Neil Magny (28-10).

Watch live Saturday night from TD Garden in Boston. Tune into ESPN at 6:30 p.m. ET for the undercard and at ESPN+ for the main events at 10 p.m. ET.

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