---

Kevin Holland vs Reinier de Ridder

The bell rang, and immediately Holland went on the offensive, attempting to land a brutal overhand.

De Ridder stuck to his gameplay, however, and took down Holland with a single leg sweep.

The ‘Dutch Knight’ De Ridder was making just his second appearance in the UFC after being signed from the ONE Championship fight promotion.

De Ridder now had a dominant position on the ground, attempting to control the hands of his opponent whilst maintaining a top mount position.

In an attempt to escape the ground control, Holland allowed his back to be taken, with De Ridder rolling forwards to allow him to maintain control on the ground.

The Dutchman locked in a body triangle in order to thwart Holland’s attempt at an escape and searched for the rear naked choke.

Holland eventually succumbed to defeat with De Ridder locking in the choke and forcing the tap.

That is two straight wins in the UFC for De Ridder, who will now start to target the top 15 in the middleweight division.

For Holland, this was his second straight defeat in a row after he lost to Roman Dolidze in October 2024. However, the American is insistent that he will continue to fight regularly in the UFC.

---

Jailton Almeida vs Sergey Spivak

Number six ranked heavyweight Jailton Almeida stepped into the Octagon to face number seven ranked Sergey Spivak.

Almeida came into the fight after a victory over Alexander Romanov in June 2024, while Spivak defeated Marcin Tybura in his last bout.

After being caught by a swift left hook, Spivak immediately went for a takedown, securing it with a clean judo sweep.

Spivak attempted to control the tempo of the fight on the ground, using a range of ground and pound to damage Almeida.

A few vicious elbows caught Almeida on the ground with blood starting to appear on the lip of the Brazilian.

A lapse in concentration allowed Almeida to take the top mount position, and the Brazilian used a level change to take the back off Spivak and attempt a rear naked choke.

Spivak managed to avert the submission attempt and returned to his feet before raining down strikes on his grounded opponent.

Almeida managed to weather the storm, and the fighters returned to their feet, with Almeida landing a stiff right hand that rocked his opponent.

The fight firmly swung in Almeida’s favour from this point as he took down Spivac yet again before delivering a flurry of ground and pound strikes to finish the fight.

This was Almeida’s sixth win in the UFC, and he has recovered after a defeat to Curtis Blaydes in March 2024.

---

Jiri Prochazka vs Jamahal Hill

A highly anticipated bout in the light heavyweight division between Jiri Prochazka and Jamahal Hill was the third fight on the main card.

Both fighters come into this fight off the back of defeats to Alex Pereira, the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, with both men hoping for another title shot in the near future.

Prochazka had a one-inch reach advantage entering the fight, while Hill had a one-inch height advantage.

Both fighters started round one tentatively, with neither man willing to commit themselves in the opening exchanges.

Hill attempted to keep his range and use leg kicks to damage Prochazka; however, the Czech fighter countered back by closing the distance with sharp jabs.

Hill began to take the advantage as the round drew to a close, landing a big right overhand before following that with a knee to the head.

The tide soon swung, however, as Prochazka dropped Hill with a right hand before attempting to capitalise on the ground. Hill managed to scramble before returning to his feet.

The fight had sprung to life now with both fighters trading blows in the centre of the Octagon as the round came to a close. Hill was caught with another huge right hand as the bell went, causing a swelling on his right eye.

In contrast to the first round, the second started in a frenetic fashion with both fighters narrowly missing with head kicks before Prochazka missed a flying knee.

The chaos continued throughout round two with both fighters connecting with big shots, but both fighters remained on their feet for the whole round.

The third and final round saw Prochazka take the initiative, delivering some brutal strikes to his opponent in the first minute of the round.

Hill’s nose was now bloodied after consistent strikes, and he was now offering little to no counterstrikes.

The relentless pressure eventually paid off with Prochazka dropping Hill with yet another big right hand.

From there the Czech fighter capitalised on this by taking his back and finishing the fight with some vicious grounded strikes to the side of the head.

Another statement victory from Prochazka, who called for yet another title fight against Alex Pereira.

---

Merab Dvalishvili (C) vs Umar Nurmagomedov

The co-main event of the evening saw the UFC Bantamweight Champion Merab Dvalishvili defend his title against the number two ranked Umar Nurmagomedov.

Dvalishvili defeated Sean O’Malley in September 2024 to claim the bantamweight title, and this was his first title defence.

For Nurmagomedov, he was undefeated in the UFC and had defeated the likes of Cory Sandhagen to earn a title shot.

Many expected this fight to be a slow affair with the majority of exchanges being on the ground, but it started in opposing fashion with both men attempting to damage their opponent on the feet.

Dvalishvili was connecting with a number of kicks to the leg, whilst Nurmagomedov was narrowly missing with some thought-out overhands.

The champion connected with a big right hand three minutes into round one, but the challenger responded with a flurry of strikes himself.

As expected, Nurmagomedov attempted to take the fight to the ground, but Dvalishvili stuffed his single-leg takedown before he was momentarily stunned by another right overhand.

Round two began in similar fashion with both men enjoying themselves on the feet; the challenger connected with a trio of body kicks whilst the champion pushed forward, using his jab to good effect.

A frantic scramble ensued with two minutes left of the round, with Nurmagomedov sprawling to prevent a takedown before Dvalishvili returned to his feet after almost having his legs tripped.

Both fighters returned to the centre of the Octagon and continued their high-octane encounters with both men landing body shots and jabs alike.

It was highly likely that Nurmagomedov had won the first two rounds, leaving the champion with work to do as the third round started.

Dvalishvili immediately went on the offensive, searching for an early takedown, which was again halted by the alert Nurmagomedov.

The champion is known for his limitless gas tank, and it was showing in this fight as he continued to push forward with vicious strikes.

Dvalishvili prevented another takedown before tossing Nurmagomedov onto the ground with just three minutes to go in round three.

Dvalishvili was constantly adjusting his footwork to thwart any potential takedowns, although Nurmagomedov managed to haul him down just as the bell went. A positive round for the champion as we entered the championship rounds.

A pivotal fourth round started with Dvalishvili preventing yet another takedown before securing a single-leg takedown of his own.

Nurmagomedov looked to be tiring with Dvalishvili now landing counter strikes of his own, and his constant barrage of attacks led to him landing a double leg takedown.

Dvalishvili continued his relentless pressure as the fifth and final round began, but Nurmagomedov refused to give in, landing more kicks to the body.

The champion connected with a huge right hand as the clock ticked down before throwing Nurmagomedov to the ground again.

Dvalishvili now began to showboat before securing another takedown; the champion was now cruising as the final bell tolled.

Two judges scored the contest 48-47 and one judge scored it 49-46 in favour of Dvalishvili, who reclaimed his bantamweight title while handing Nurmagomedov his first UFC loss.

An excellent display from the champion, with many expecting it to be a much tougher and closer affair than it turned out to be.

---

Islam Makhachev (C) vs Renato Moicano

The UFC Lightweight Champion Islam Makhachev was set to headline UFC 311 against Arman Tsarukyan, who unfortunately had to withdraw due to an injury sustained to his back just two days before the fight.

Replacing Tsarukyan in the main event spot was number ten ranked lightweight Renato ‘Money’ Moicano, who was coming into the fight off the back of consecutive victories against Jalin Turner and Benoit Saint Denis.

Moicano was two years older than his 33-year-old opponent but had a one-inch height advantage and a one-and-half-inch reach advantage. Despite this, he was a heavy underdog coming into the fight, with many expecting a dominant Makhachev performance.

The challenger attempted to start the fight quickly, rushing to meet the champion and searching for early leg kicks.

Makhachev started the fight cautiously, attempting to work from a distance and seeing a telegraphed body kick caught by his opponent.

Moicano momentarily dropped Makhachev with a big right hand, but the champion quickly recovered and returned to his feet. Makhachev then started to try and find his range, firing off a couple of sharp jabs.

With just under three minutes gone of round one, Makhachev attempted and secured the first takedown of the fight with a single leg.

The champion was in full mount on the canvas and was controlling the legs of the challenger to prevent an escape from his submission attempt.

Moicano attempted to return to his feet but was pushed back down by the champion who then locked in a D’Arce choke to secure a quick victory.

A fourth title defence for Makhachev, who has now recorded 15 victories in a row. As for Moicano, he will now be aiming to climb back up the rankings and secure another title shot in the near future.