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Listen to your coach? Nah!

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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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.

Will history repeat itself?

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Lightweight champion Islam Makhachev makes his first appearance of 2025 at UFC 311 this weekend (Sat., Jan. 18, 2025) as he tries to become the all-time leader for UFC lightweight title fight wins (5) as he takes on No. 1 contender Arman Tsarukyan inside the brand-new Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, California.

Makhachev vs. Tsarukyan 2 is one of the most highly skilled fights the promotion can put on right now because of their elite wrestling and grappling and how close their first fight was.

However, Makhachev is very confident because he’s undefeated in rematches.

“I’m always good in rematches; he has to be ready,” Makhachev told Kevin Iole. “Because [it helps] when I know my opponent, what he has to do, and what he’s going to do. I have a great team, and we made a very good plan for this fight.”

Indeed, Makhachev is dominant in rematches, even though he’s only had one. The Dagastani fighter ran it back with the UFC Featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski eight months after their epic first fight, in which Makhachev was taken to the brink of defeat.

In the highly anticipated rematch, Makhachev knocked Volkanovski out in three minutes with a vicious head kick, ending their rivalry (watch highlights).

Is Makhachev setting the stage for an easy night against Tsarukyan? Well, we will all fight out in t-minus four days.

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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.

Former top 15 Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight Chris Curtis suffered his second straight loss at UFC Vegas 101 this past weekend (Sat., Jan. 11, 2025) when Roman Kopylov stopped him with one second left inside the UFC Apex in Las Vegas (watch highlights).

Both Curtis and his head coach, Eric Nicksick, were furious about the stoppage, which was undoubtedly controversial and can be dissected in several different ways.

Now that Nicksick has had time to digest what happened, he explained why he was so mad at UFC Vegas 101 … and it wasn’t about the kick that stopped the fight.

“First and foremost, we need to take accountability on our end. I said this to Chris immediately after the fight. We should have never been in that position. If you don’t want Mark [Smith] to make that call, then don’t get head kicked,” Nicksick said on his podcast Versus Us. “Don’t be in that position or that situation to make Mark make that type of decision. Now, the stoppage was questionable. We’re all agreeing to that. But it wasn’t the stoppage that I’m mad about.”

“It was the fact that prior to the fight, the referee comes in and asks, ‘Do you have any questions or concerns?’ Chris Curtis went on and said this: ‘Guy will find ways to stall. What are you going to do if and when he does stall? How are you going to handle that? We laid out the game plan on how we’re going to attack and approach,” Nicksick added. “We were told something different, and then the way he handled it in the fight, right? That’s what I’m pissed off about. You never get three timeouts in a f—king fight.“

“So, number one, he spit his mouthpiece out. That wasn’t too bad. All right. Groin strike- Remember, Chris was [applying a lot of pressure], right? You guys hear me yell, ‘Oregon- meaning no-huddle.’ Keep that f—king offense on the field and keep the pressure, right? Yep. Then the eye poke, and I calmly said to Mark, ‘Hey, that is two infractions in a row in this round. Where’s the point?”

Nicksick has had trouble with veteran mixed martial arts (MMA) referee Mark Smith before and went on to list several different instances in which Smith screwed up a call or missed a foul.

“Anytime that I see Mark Smith walk in the back and say, ‘I got your fight.’ This sounds shitty to say, but I think to myself, we’re now fighting two people, not one. I have felt like that for years. And this runs deeper than yesterday, Nicksick said. “Bottom line, I think Mark’s a good person. He’s not a bad human being…For whatever reason, I feel like every time I see Mark, we’re fighting against two people, not one. That’s my feeling…That’s how I feel when I see that dude come in the back. When I see [Jason] Herzog, I’m like, ‘Great. This dude’s gonna give us a fair shake.’ [Mike] Beltran will give us a fair shake.’ When I see Mark Smith, I’m like, ‘How is this guy gonna find a way to f—ck us over? Somehow, someway.’

Nicksick is going to try to find out if there is a way to formally request Smith not to ref any of his fighter’s fights in the future because he believes there is too much baggage between the two, especially because Smith used to ref sparring rounds at Xtreme Couture, Nicksick’s gym in Las Vegas.

“I’m gonna find all that out [from the commission]. 100%. It’s just too far gone,” Nicksick said. “Like, I know this guy too well, anecdotally, through all of my experiences with him, and on a personal level of what I’ve seen with other people and other fights. Like, there’s no way that this guy can’t hold a grudge or be biased. There’s just no way. I know him too well, and he fraternizes with other gyms, teams, fighters, coaches, and everything else. So, the lines have been blurred. I think he’s an egomaniac. I mean, I’ve never heard a ref ask people to vote for him for the MMA ref of the year.”

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For complete UFC Vegas 101 results, coverage, and highlights click HERE.

“ALL fighters now integrated and connected in one powerful roster.” —Donn Davis

The reports are true: Professional Fighters League (PFL) has shuttered Bellator MMA.

“Professional Fighters League acquired Bellator MMA one year ago primarily for its great fighter roster,” a statement posted to social media explained. “The PFL brand has become synonymous with the ‘win and advance’ format and product innovation. PFL has established itself as a premium brand doing things different to help grow our great sport of MMA.”

“Going forward all fight events and content will be PFL branded. The Bellator brand carries a rich history that will continue to be respected and appreciated through select feature title bouts. Fans will continue to enjoy the immense Bellator fight library and historic fight content throughout our social, digital, and partner channels. All of our fighters are now integrated and connected in one powerful PFL brand worldwide.”

Unfortunately, some of Bellator MMA’s most prominent fighters found out through Twitter.

“Imagine being the champion of an organization chilling on the couch and your wife walks in and tells you ‘did you see this? Bellator is dead now?’ … and all you can do is shrug your shoulders in confusion…. CUZ you still haven’t heard a thing. Lol. Yeaaaah, that was me,” Bellator light heavyweight champion, Corey Anderson, posted on Monday.

Bellator featherweight champion Patricio “Pitbull” Freire, who previously blasted PFL for its “disastrous” handling of the Bellator MMA acquisition, continued his assault on the promotion after this week’s news — only to earn his much-desired release.

“We are releasing Patricio Pitbull,” Chairman Donn Davis wrote. “PFL MMA is all about opportunity. I founded this company to create new great opportunities for top fighters. PFL has and will continue to do that for all top fighters who want to be here.”

Bellator bantamweight champion, Patchy Mix, also requested his PFL release.

Davis is expected to make an announcement on Wednesday that will (hopefully) shed some light on how the promotion will integrate the current Bellator champions. As it stands, Bellator MMA lightweight titleholder Usman Nurmagomedov defends against Irish sensation Paul Hughes at the “Road to Dubai” Champions Series on Jan. 25 in Dubai.

In addition, PFL is also expected to rework its point-based season format and implement a more traditional tournament style with single-fight eliminations. Winners will also be taking a pay cut as the promotion scales down its $1 million payouts to $500,000. Expect more details on that front when Davis addresses the media later this week.

For the latest PFL news and notes click here.