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Kevin Holland will defend his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) turf against the promotional newcomer, Michael “Venom” Page, at UFC 299 in Miami, Florida this weekend (Sat., March 9, 2024).

Page, 36, has been one of the more popular and polarizing fighters on the Bellator roster for the past decade. After finishing out his contract in 2023, “MVP” made the jump to UFC, signing to make his debut against Octagon mainstay, Holland.

Holland, 31, has fought 20 times (12-7, 1 no contest, 25-10, 1 no contest overall) since he arrived in the promotion after he earned a contract through Dana White’s Contender Series in the summer of 2018. Page, on the other hand, enjoyed a solid 18-fight run (16-2, 21-2 overall) in Bellator that started in May 2014. The sensational striker will look to quickly rise through the ranks, but Holland won’t let it be at his expense.

“He’s not a UFC guy, he’s a Bellator guy,” Holland told ESPN. “If I wanted to fight Bellator guys I would have went to Bellator. I’m in the UFC. Sounds good, welcome to the party. Hopefully, after I smash him he’s not even here anymore and he goes off to a different league and does his thing.

“It’s a free body. That’s all it is,” he concluded. “It’s not a higher pay, it’s not a jump up in ranking, it’s just a free body. It’s another kill to add to the hunt list. That’s all it is.”

The London, England native, Page, didn’t even break a sweat his last time out at Bellator 292 in March 2023. Page took on fellow perennial Welterweight contender, Goiti Yamauchi, and needed only 26 seconds to score a disgusting leg kick technical knockout that broke the kneecap of his opponent (watch highlights).

Heading into UFC 299, Holland can get back in the win column by overcoming the Brit after he came up short against Australia’s Jack Della Maddalena via split decision at Noche UFC in September 2023.

“I think sometimes with the style he has people are probably gonna discredit a little bit,” Holland said. “People hate to see flashy stuff sometimes and hate to see things that you can’t do, right? So, he might be a little better than people think. Pretty sure he’s fast, pretty sure he has good power, the way he’s finishing people and stuff like that.

“All that being said, he’s hitting guys with bad timing and no head movement, no footwork,” he concluded. “I do a little bit of everything. So, it should be a pretty fun show for me.”

Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 299 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET (simulcast on ESPN at 8 p.m. ET), before the pay-per-view (PPV) main card start time at 10 p.m. ET (also on ESPN+).

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 299: “O’Malley vs. Vera 2” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

The Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou fight card is set with its blockbuster main event and a compelling undercard.

The pay-per-view portion of the Knockout Chaos card kicks off at 1 p.m. ET from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Joshua and Ngannou are expected to make their walk to the ring at 5:50 p.m. ET. The winner of their highly anticipated heavyweight clash is likely to face the winner of the upcoming undisputed heavyweight championship bout between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk, which takes place on May 18.

Friday’s preliminary card is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. ET.

Knockout Chaos is available to purchase for $ 69.99 on PPV.COM or $ 39.99 on DAZN with a subscription to the streaming service.

In the co-main event, Zhilei Zhang faces Joseph Parker in a heavyweight bout. Zhang goes for his second defense of the interim WBO title after scoring back-to-back knockout wins of James Joyce.

More gold is on the line on the undercard as WBC featherweight champion Rey Vargas fights Nick Ball, and Israil Madrimov and Magomed Kurbanov battle for a vacant WBA super welterweight title.

The preliminary portion of the card also features Roman Fury, the half-brother of Tyson Fury, looking to go 4-0 as a pro when he takes on Martin Svarc.

See the Knockout Chaos lineup below.

MAIN EVENT: Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou

Zhilei Zhang vs Joseph Parker

Rey Vargas vs Nick Ball

Israil Madrimov vs. Magomed Kurbanov

Gavin Gwynne vs. Mark Chamberlain

Justis Huni vs. Kevin Lerena

Jack McGann vs. Louis Green

Roman Fury vs. Martin Svarc

Ziyad Almaayouf vs. Christian Lopez Flores

Andrii Novytski vs. Juan Torres

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Undisputed middleweight champion, Dricus du Plessis has revealed an outstanding injury from his January title win over Sean Strickland has ruled him from a UFC 300 grudge fight against Israel Adesanya – questioning why he would enter a training camp while compromised.

du Plessis, the current undisputed middleweight titleholder, most recently headlined UFC 297 back in January in Canada, landing the divisional crown with a close split decision win over the aforementioned common-foe, Strickland.

And immediately calling for a title fight defense with former two-time middleweight champion, Adesanya, South African favorite, du Plessis suggested the pair settle their long-standing differences at UFC 300 in April.

Responding to the new champion’s call out, Adesanya revealed that despite agreeing to an offer from the promotion to headline UFC 300 against du Plessis, the Pretoria native shut down the potential clash.

Dricus du Plessis reveals UFC 300 title fiasco

Confirming his decision to avoid a UFC 300 return next month in Las Vegas, du Plessis questioned why he would enter training camp whilst carrying an injury.

“With the conversations of [UFC] 300, that would’ve been a massive fight with me and Izzy (Israel Adesanya),” Dricus du Plessis whilst speaking with Cameron Saaiman It was on the table, 100 percent, but one thing people don’t realize is why would I go and start a camp once again, injured, if I am the champion? Taking risks is one thing, I have been taking risks, a lot, but why would I risk?”

“I’m the champion now, and I can fight when I’m ready,” Dricus du Plessis explained. “I think Izzy misjudges himself as still being a champion, and he’s not.” 

Do you think Dricus du Plessis fights Israel Adesanya this year?

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UFC

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Francis Ngannou already captured boxing’s attention when he knocked down linear heavyweight champ Tyson Fury and nearly pulled off one of the biggest upsets in the history of the sport. Now he’ll attempt to trump that performance with his fight against Anthony Joshua, but does a win effectively doom any chance of an MMA return?

UFC Hall of Famer and current PFL commentator Randy Couture doesn’t think so.

Despite the massive paydays Ngannou is earning in boxing and the potential for a future rematch with Fury, especially if Ngannou gets past Joshua on March 8, Couture still believes the former UFC heavyweight champion will return to MMA to fulfill his obligation to the PFL.

“I don’t think he’s going to walk away from this sport,” Couture told MMA Fighting. “His roots are here. This is what made him the name that he is, and the fact that he’s getting these boxing matches is because of what he did in MMA. I don’t think he’s going to walk away from this sport.”

Ngannou hasn’t competed in MMA since defeating Ciryl Gane in what ultimately served as his UFC swan song back in January 2022. Considering his boxing schedule, there’s a chance Ngannou’s potential PFL debut may not take place until sometime in late 2024 or even early 2025, which would put “The Predator” at three years away from the sport.

He also turns 38 years old in September, which can’t be ignored.

Still, Couture feels like Ngannou will figure out a way to come back to MMA again, even if there’s no exact timetable as to when that might happen.

“I think he’s going to have to juggle a little bit,” Couture said. “I think the PFL is certainly willing to work with him in that regard, but I don’t see him walking away from MMA.”

A huge part of the reason that Ngannou split with the UFC came down to the ability to control more of his career, especially with opportunities like what he’s found in boxing.

PFL had no problems making those concessions to sign Ngannou, and company co-founder Donn Davis has spoken often about backing the former UFC champ as he continues seeking out marquee fights like his matchups against Fury and Joshua.

Even if all that means a delay in Ngannou finally competing in PFL, Couture knows that Ngannou’s promotion supports him.

“I like from day one, Pete [Murray] and Donn’s approach, we’re different,” Couture explained. “We don’t have to compete with the UFC. We’re that different. Obviously now we’re launching the pay-per-view model that at least puts us in the same category with what the UFC is doing, but they’ve never poked the bear. It’s never been about us or them. There’s plenty of room in the marketplace for both of us and that’s been their approach all along, and I love that. I don’t think that’s going to change.

“There’s no ego in that. It’s about the fighters for a change instead of the three letters that represent that promotion.”

As far as potential opposition, Ngannou didn’t really have a clear cut contender to catch his attention until PFL champion Renan Ferreira crushed Bellator champion Ryan Bader in 21 seconds at the first ever PFL vs. Bellator card. Now Couture sees that as the fight to make.

“That makes perfect sense to me,” Couture said. “I know [Ngannou is] enamored with being able to box, it’s been a dream of his for a long, long time, but I don’t think he’s walking away from MMA and the one that brought him to the dance in the first place. I think it’s logical that [Ferreira] would be the one to get the shot at Francis.”

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley headlines this weekend’s UFC 299 fight card in a rematch with Marlon “Chito” Vera.  It will be O’Malley’s first title defense.

When the two first fought at UFC 252 in August 2020, Vera stopped O’Malley in the first round.  It’s O’Malley’s only career defeat.  He’ll have the opportunity to avenge that loss, but former two-division champion Henry Cejudo doesn’t think he will.  

“Sean O’Malley has come a long way.  What is it that makes his striking really good?  It’s his movement,” Cejudo said on his YouTube channel.  “He’ll carry everything with his feints.  He does a really good job of juking and getting people to pause and getting people to freeze before he actually attacks.”

“It’s been super impressive what he’s been able to do with his movement and obviously his striking.  His ability to set traps.  He’ll use the movements to get people to follow for him to eventually start going.  So now he’s using his lateral movement to get people to follow to set the trap to eventually cha-cha, do his fake, his feint and eventually go and catch you with something big,” Cejudo continued.  

Looking at Vera’s strengths, Cejudo wondered if he could have success on the ground with O’Malley.  He’s also already beaten O’Malley once.    

“He knows how to press people.  He presses people and the way that he does it, he’s locked in.  He’s loaded.  He doesn’t care if you hit him.  He’s going to pretty much take that distance and turn it into a dog fight,” said Cejudo.  

“His ground game.  43 percent of his wins come via submission.  This dude is tricky on his back.  He’s looking for submissions.  He’s super active off of there,” Cejudo continued.

“He’s the only person to defeat Sean O’Malley.  He’s done it before.  He knows what it’s like to be in there with him.  Has Sean really changed or evolved that much?  I will say this, if there’s one area this man could expose him is that damn leg kick.  And I think he knows that.  It’ll always be there because Sean has the exact same stance.  He’s a lot further out now but he still has that leg.”

Related: Robert Whittaker breaks down UFC 299 main event

Cejudo expects O’Malley have be dangerous in the first couple of rounds.  Knowing that Vera has a tendency of starting slow, Cejudo sees him getting better as the fight goes on.  

“Triple-C” predicted that the title bout will not go the distance.  He also predicted that the belt will change hands.  

“I’m sorry Sean but I still don’t think you’ll get past.  I still think you’re a clown and… yeah, I lost.  I’ll take it, but I think you’re about to lose,” Cejudo said.  “I believe if Chito sticks to the game plan, kicks your f**king leg.  He runs you down for five rounds and just stalks you and catches you looking at the clock.”  

“I do believe that Chito Vera is not only going to beat Sean O’Malley but he’s actually going stop him.  I’m going Chito Vera via stoppage maybe within the fourth or fifth round,” Cejudo continued.  “I think for that reason it could be an easy fight for the one and only Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera.”  

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