INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Kevin Holland made it clear heading into UFC 311 that he wasn’t overly impressed with Reinier de Ridder. Perhaps now his opinion has changed.
De Ridder, the former two-division ONE Championship title holder, came up aces against Holland on Saturday night at Intuit Dome, scoring an impressive submission win at the 3:31 mark of the first round. The middleweight bout opened up the UFC 311 main card at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif.
“The goal was always to choke the guy out,” De Ridder said during his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan.
It looked that way from the onset when, just a moment into the bout, de Ridder (19-2 MMA, 2-0 UFC) level-changed for a takedown after Holland (26-13 MMA, 13-10 UFC) whiffed on a left hook. From there, de Ridder employed his ground game carefully.
The turning point of the fight came when de Ridder managed to jump Holland’s back as he tried to stand up. Once de Ridder secured the position, it didn’t take but 30 more seconds to lock in a rear-naked choke for the finish.
“JIU-JITSU!!!” 🥋 #UFC311 pic.twitter.com/gMjF1vm7B7
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) January 19, 2025
Afterward, de Ridder said he hoped for a top-five opponent following his second consecutive win since making his UFC debut last November.
Holland, who said this week that he hoped to fight six times in 2025, has now lost four of his past five bouts, including back-to-back.
Up-to-the-minute UFC 311 results include:
- Reinier de Ridder def. Kevin Holland via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:31
- Raoni Barcelos def. Payton Talbott via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Azamat Bekoev def. Zach Reese via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 3:04
- Bogdan Guskov def. Billy Elekana via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 2, 3:33
- Grant Dawson def. Diego Ferreira via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Ailin Perez def. Karol Rosa via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Muin Gafurov def. Rinya Nakamura via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Bernardo Sopaj def. Ricky Turcios via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Tagir Ulanbekov def. Clayton Carpenter via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 311.
