Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) resident loudmouth and fan favorite Kevin Holland returns to action at UFC 311 this weekend (Sat., Jan. 18, 2025) against former ONE Championship two-division champion-turned-UFC fighter Reinier de Ridder, which is set to go down inside the brand-new Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, California.
On paper, Holland vs. De Ridder sticks out like a sore thumb as an old-school UFC 1-style matchup between a grappler and a striker, and ultimately, that might be what it turns out to be.
Nevertheless, Holland’s motive is simple—to put on a show, as he tends to do, whether or not that includes listening to his coach, Bob Perez.
“[I’m looking at this fight the] same as any other fight, go in there and bang it out,” Holland told Demetrious Johnson. “Coaches have a game plan. They always have ideas on what I should do, and they’re usually right. It’s just a matter if go out there and implement that s—t. Hopefully, I’m in a listening mood when I go out there, but if not, I’ll give you guys what I always give you: a good scrap until it’s not.”
Holland, 32, is coming off a loss to Roman Dolizde, and he could not continue because of a nasty rib injury at UFC 307. Prior to that, he tapped Michal Oleksiejczuk, securing his eighth Performance of the Night.
On the flip side, De Ridder is coming off a sloppy win against Gerald Meerschaert in his UFC debut at UFC Vegas 100.
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LIVE! Watch UFC 311 PPV On ESPN+ Here!
LIGHTWEIGHT REMATCH! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) kicks off its 2025 pay-per-view (PPV) schedule on Sat., Jan. 18, with its seemingly-unstoppable lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev, defending his 155-pound crown against top-seeded division contender, Arman Tsarukyan, in the five-round main event. In UFC 311’s championship co-headliner from inside Intuit Dome in Inglewood (Los Angeles), Calif., undefeated 135-pound contender, Umar Nurmagomedov, challenges newly-minted bantamweight titleholder, Merab Dvalishvili, for the undisputed crown. UFC 311 will also feature the exciting returns of former light heavyweight champions Jiri Prochazka and Jamahal Hill, as well as the pivotal middleweight showdown between Kevin Holland and Reinier De Ridder, and so much more! UFC 311’s start time is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET (Preliminary card) and 10 p.m. ET (PPV main card).
Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 311 fight card right here, starting with the ESPN+/ESPNEWS “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET, before the main card start time at 10 p.m. ET (also on ESPN+).
To check out the latest and greatest UFC 311: “Makhachev vs. Tsarukyan 2” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.