Kevin Holland and Reinier de Ridder meet Saturday in the UFC 311 main card opener at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif. Check out this quick breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom.
Last event: 3-3
UFC main cards, 2024: 3-3
Kevin Holland vs. Reinier de Ridder UFC 311 preview
Holland (26-12 MMA, 13-9 UFC) will look to start off his 2025 campaign on a high note by rebounding from a loss due to a rib injury against Roman Dolidze at UFC 307 in October. In 2024, Holland won one of three fights, picking up a victory over Michal Oleksiejczuk at UFC 302. … De Ridder (18-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) enters on a two-fight winning streak, including his successful UFC debut. In November, the former ONE champ submitted Gerald Meerschaert to begin his UFC run.
Kevin Holland vs. Reinier de Ridder UFC 311 expert pick, prediction
Despite having a slew of action fights at bantamweight and lightweight being stuck on the prelims, the UFC matchmakers saw fit to open the paid portion of the card with a middleweight matchup between Holland and de Ridder.
To be fair, Holland is a multiple-time headliner for the promotion, while de Ridder has earned titles in outside organizations like ONE Championships.
Holland, who officially stands at 8-2-1 against UFC-level southpaws (though it could be 7-3-1 if his fight with Gerald Meerschaert was adjudicated it correctly), should have a solid on-paper edge in the striking department.
But despite de Ridder’s lack of head movement asking for a tetherball-type spiking, I can’t ignore Holland’s propensity to crash distance into unfavorable clinches – particularly at middleweight.
Add in de Ridder’s dangerous submission game, and I suspect we see the Dutchman lockup a rear-naked choke by Round 2.
Kevin Holland vs. Reinier de Ridder UFC 311 odds
Even though the oddsmakers opened the American as the favorite, the public has pushed the Dutch fighter to favorite odds, listing de Ridder -130 and Holland +106 via FanDuel.
Kevin Holland vs. Reinier de Ridder UFC 311 start time, how to watch
As the main card opener, Holland and de Ridder are expected to walk to the cage at approximately 10:10 p.m. ET. The fight will stream on ESPN+.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 311.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Kevin Holland vs. Reinier de Ridder prediction, pick, start time for UFC 311
