Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will once again venture away from the familiarity of its APEX facility and ship its cast and crew across the border for the upcoming UFC Vancouver fight card, locked
and loaded for tomorrow night (Sat., Oct. 18, 2025) from inside Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. UFC Vancouver will be headlined by a 185-pound main event between Top 10 middleweight contenders Reinier de Ridder and Brendan Allen, who both want the next crack at division champion, Khamzat Chimaev.
Like most “Fight Night” cards, you’ll need a subscription to ESPN+ to stream this weekend’s event (sign up here).
Before we dive into the main and co-main event, which includes the 170-pound showdown between welterweight fan favorite Kevin Holland and local hero Mike Malott, check out Andrew Richardson’s “X-Factor” breakdown for the rest of the UFC Vancouver main card by clicking here. Get all the latest “De Ridder vs. Allen” odds and betting props courtesy of our fiscal friends over at FanDuel right here.
Let’s get down to business.
185 lbs.: Reinier de Ridder vs. Brendan Allen
Reinier “Dutch Knight” De Ridder
Record: 21-2 | Age: 35 | Betting line: -200
Wins: 5 KO/TKO, 13 SUB, 3 DEC | Losses: 2 KO/TKO, 0 SUB, 0 DEC
Height: 6’4” | Reach: 78” | Stance: Southpaw
Significant Strikes Landed Per Minute: 2.95 | Striking accuracy: 52%
Strikes Absorbed Per Minute: 2.44 | Striking Defense: 50%
Takedown Average: 2.86 (27% accuracy) | Takedown Defense: 66%
Current Ranking: No. 4 | Last fight: Split decision win over Robert Whittaker
Brendan “All In” Allen
Record: 25-7 | Age: 29 | Betting line: +165
Wins: 5 KO/TKO, 14 SUB, 6 DEC | Losses: 2 KO/TKO, 1 SUB, 4 DEC
Height: 6’2” | Reach: 75” | Stance: Orthodox
Significant Strikes Landed Per Minute: 3.85 | Striking accuracy: 53%
Strikes Absorbed Per Minute: 3.96 | Striking Defense: 47%
Takedown Average: 1.65 (41% accuracy) | Takedown Defense: 56%
Current Ranking: No. 9 | Last fight: Unanimous decision win over Marvin Vettori
Reinier de Ridder was supposed to be fighting No. 6-ranked Anthony Hernandez for the next crack at the 185-pound crown but unfortunately, “Fluffy” got injured and bailed on the fight. Brendan Allen would have been a more respectable replacement if he wasn’t sporting consecutive losses to Hernandez and Nassourdine Imavov, two of the biggest names in the division. In fact, Allen said “I ain’t the guy I thought I was” after losing to Hernandez, which makes me wonder about his level of confidence coming into UFC Vancouver. That said, I do appreciate his candor as opposed to the lame-o I wAs OnLy fIgHtInG aT 60 pErCeNt excuse he used in the wake of his Imavov loss in Paris.
“I mean, (De Ridder’s resume) doesn’t impress me,” Allen said during the UFC Vancouver media day. “Maybe I’m hard to impress, but there’s not one fight or one moment where you’re like, ‘Oh man, this guy’s crazy,’ or he’s something special. He’s tough, he’s durable, his jiu-jitsu’s not bad … but really, what else is there? I don’t know, maybe you see something different than me, but I haven’t seen anything where I’m just like, ‘Oh man, he’s something special. He’s got that it [factor].‘ Maybe he’s got something that needs to be a little more polished. It doesn’t stand out to me, but hey, he’s getting wins. Good for him.”
“It’s just like I’ve always wanted to fight the guy,” Allen continued. “And why? I just think it’s a great matchup for me. It’s just that simple. I think it’s a great matchup for me stylistically, and what better way to hit the Top 5 than to beat him and beat him in a main event. I’m back on the poster, it’s just kind of putting me back where I planned to be, to be honest with you. That was the opportunity, and bigger the risk, bigger the reward.”
Bookies have De Ridder as a healthy betting favorite based on his most recent victory over former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker, though Allen claims the 34 year-old “Reaper” is “washed.” I’m not sure what measurements Allen is using for his criteria but outside of De Ridder, the Aussie has only lost to three other opponents during his 14-4 run at 185 pounds and his defeat to the “Dutch Knight” was fairly close. And if Whittaker is washed … then what does that make Allen, who was finished by way of technical knockout in losses to Chris Curtis and Sean Strickland? Knocking around a braindead Marvin Vettori is not the flex it used to be, especially when you consider “The Italian Dream” had just lost his brother in a tragic house fire before their fight.
“I think I have some special stuff,” De Ridder told Newsweek. “I’ll show [Allen] some special stuff on Saturday. He’s very skilled, especially in the boxing range. I think he does very well. Throws good combinations, he has a decent middle kick against southpaws. His wrestling might be his weakest point, although he got that nice body lock takedown on Imavov. His jiu-jitsu is decent; especially on top, he’s alright. Pretty well-rounded guy, good opponent. I’ll see if I can get him. It’s basically a three-man race as far as I’m concerned. It’s ‘Fluffy,’ it’s Imavov, and me. Both of them weren’t able to put Brendan away. What if I am?”
I don’t want to get too down on Allen because he’s a very tough out with a dangerous submission game and should give De Ridder all he can handle on fight night. This bout was taken on short notice but Allen is an active fighter and has already competed twice this year, so it’s not like he’s jumping off the couch following an extended absence. I’m just not sure any version of Allen beats De Ridder if we’re basing our prediction on his performances against Imavov and Hernandez. “Fluffy” was 4-for-8 on takedown attempts in their fight while the unheralded
Jacob Malkoun was 7-for-14, so it’s easy to envision a scenario where De Ridder takes Allen to the floor and controls him. Probably not the barnburner fight that fans were hoping for, but neither was Khamzat Chimaev’s victory over Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 319 — and that ended with “Borz” holding the title.
Prediction: De Ridder def. Allen by unanimous decision
170 lbs.: Kevin Holland vs. Mike Malott
Kevin “Trailblazer” Holland
Record: 28-14, 1 NC | Age: 32 | Betting line: -100
Wins: 14 KO/TKO, 9 SUB, 5 DEC | Losses: 2 KO/TKO, 4 SUB, 8 DEC
Height: 6’3” | Reach: 81” | Stance: Orthodox
Significant Strikes Landed Per Minute: 4.30 | Striking accuracy: 50%
Strikes Absorbed Per Minute: 3.22 | Striking Defense: 50%
Takedown Average: 0.82 (38% accuracy) | Takedown Defense: 55%
Current Ranking: No. 15 | Last fight: Unanimous decision loss to Daniel Rodriguez
“Proper” Mike Malott
Record: 12-2-1 | Age: 33 | Betting line: -120
Wins: 5 KO/TKO, 6 SUB, 1 DEC | Losses: 2 KO/TKO, 0 SUB, 0 DEC
Height: 6’1” | Reach: 73” | Stance: Orthodox
Significant Strikes Landed Per Minute: 4.09 | Striking accuracy: 47%
Strikes Absorbed Per Minute: 2.96 | Striking Defense: 54%
Takedown Average: 2.08 (56% accuracy) | Takedown Defense: 16%
Current Ranking: Unranked | Last fight: Knockout win over Charlie Radtke
Kevin Holland will compete for the fifth time in 2025 when he steps foot inside the Octagon this weekend, the second time in his UFC career that he’s registered five fights inside one calendar year (the first being 2020). He’s also just a couple of fights away from reaching 30 appearances under the UFC banner and as of this writing, 32 gets you into a tie with Dustin Poirier and Diego Sanchez for Top 10 all time. Not too shabby for a combatant who joined the promotion after his “Contender Series” win in June 2018, it’s just a shame that Holland doesn’t take his career more seriously. If he did, then “Trailblazer” wouldn’t have double-digit losses in UFC. I can’t accept that a fighter who is skilled enough to knock out Anthony Hernandez and submit Vicente Luque is the same fighter who gets beat by the likes of Derek Brunson and Daniel Rodriguez.
“There’s two people in this world that I shouldn’t have lost to and that’s Derek Brunson and D-Rod,” Holland told Full Send MMA. “You put those two peas in a pod together and they’re the same. One’s a sh*tty striker that manages to get it done and the other one’s a sh*tty grappler that manages to get it done. They both suck ass.”
Holland can strike, hit for power, and has great submissions, I just think the high frequency hurts him because it doesn’t allow him time to train and improve his mistakes. You can argue that UFC Vancouver will get the same version of Holland we saw at UFC 307 roughly this time last year. Maybe that’s enough to beat Mike Malott, but it sounds like “Trailblazer” is more interested in racking up paydays and not whining like an “inactive bum.”
“There’s nothing that excites me for just the simple fact that I get to get in there and do what I love to do,” Holland told Republic World. “I’ve had some wild [finishes], but for Kevin Holland, a perfect one would be just a smooth right hand going straight down the pipe and knocking the guy out. That’s always a beautiful thing for me that can happen over and over again in my life. So straight right hand to the chin, and I go home with a good grin.”
Malott has competed four times over the last two years and all four appearances have taken place in Canada, which is probably why “Proper” hasn’t been able to work his way up the 170-pound ladder. Getting finished by Neil Magny at UFC 297 certainly didn’t help either, but the Canadian turns 34 next month and is running out of time — at least in terms of making any kind of run at the 170-pound title. In addition to time, he would need skills to make that happen and aside from his misstep against the “Haitian Sensation,” Malott has been a heart attack in the welterweight division, racking up six wins with five nasty finishes — three within the first round when you factor in his stint on Dana White’s “Contender Series” in late 2021. His most recent outing ended with a thunderous knockout victory over Charlie Radtke at UFC 315 just a few months back in Montreal.
“The last guy I fought, Charles Radtke, talked a lot of trash beforehand, but not so much when we got in there,” Malott said during the UFC Vancouver media day. “I don’t know if [Kevin Holland] has been talking any trash so far, but I assume when we’re in there, he’ll be talking a lot of trash. We prepared for that with my training partners, just talking trash all camp, when we’re drilling, when we’re sparring, having my mental coach cageside yelling at me in sparring and during fight simulations and stuff. So I feel very well-prepared and comfortable to deal with that.”
“I was happy to get the opportunity to fight for a ranked position,” Malott added. “I feel so much more prepared for this second run at the rankings. I’m way ahead of where I was a few years ago. I feel like my skill has considerably increased since then, and I’ve matured as a fighter. I feel a lot more comfortable being here. It’s not as much like, ‘Whoa, this is the UFC!’ This camp went so well. I’m so ready. I’m the best I’ve ever been by a long shot.”
Malott has been wrecking shop at 170 pounds and will be dangerous for all three rounds. At the same time, his level of competition has been mediocre, at best. I’m not sure how excited I should be for finishes over opponents like Yohan Lainesse and Adam Fugitt, who both have losing records under the UFC banner. Holland is certainly no lock based on his struggle to stay consistent, but I do think he’s the more complete fighter and his resume sets him apart from any other welterweight (and many middleweights) on the roster. “Trailblazer” is not always victorious, but he’s faced the best in the world on a consistent basis for the last five years. I also think he’s pissed off about the Rodriguez loss and will be looking to prove a point.
Prediction: Holland def. Malott by submission
Remember to get the rest of the UFC Vancouver main card predictions RIGHT HERE.
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