Kevin Holland vs. Reinier de Ridder Prediction, Picks, Time: UFC 311

Kevin Holland and Reinier de Ridder meet Saturday in the UFC 311 main card opener at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California. Check out this quick review of the fight from MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom.

Last event: 3-3
UFC Main Card, 2024: 3-3

Kevin Holland vs. Reinier de Ridder UFC 311 preview

Holland (26-12 MMA, 13-9 UFC) will look to start his 2025 campaign on a high note by bouncing back from a loss due to a rib injury against Roman Dolidze at UFC 307 in October. In 2024, Holland won one of three fights and picked 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, former ONE champion sent Gerald Meerschaert to begin his UFC run.

Kevin Holland vs. Reinier de Ridder UFC 311 expert picks, prediction

Despite a series of bantamweight and lightweight action bouts firmly on the bill, UFC matchmakers saw fit to open the pay-per-view portion of the card with a middleweight bout between Holland and de Ridder.

To be fair, Holland is a multiple-time headliner for the promotion, while de Ridder has won titles in outside organizations like ONE Championships.

Holland, who is officially 8-2-1 against UFC-level southpaws (though it could be 7-3-1 if his fight with Gerald Meerschaert was judged correctly), should have a solid on-paper edge in the striking department.

Kevin Holland, facing Reinier de Ridder at #UFC311is 8-2-1 against UFC-level southpaws (W: Neal, Phillips, *GM3, Buckley, Ontiveros, Means, Chiesa, Oleksiejczuk; L: Vettori, Brunson; NC: Dukakis)

He hits well with SPs, but crashing space and kick counters remain issues. pic.twitter.com/VQl7KM6o4O

— Dan Tom (@DanTomMMA) 17 January 2025

But despite de Ridder’s lack of head movement that begs for a spike-ball type, I can’t ignore Holland’s propensity to bump distance into unfavorable clinches—especially at middleweight.

Add in de Ridder’s dangerous submission game and I suspect we’ll see the Dutchman lock in a naked choke on the back of round 2.

Kevin Holland vs. Reinier de Ridder UFC 311 odds

Although 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 go to the cage at approximately 10:10 p.m. ET. The fight will flow on ESPN+.