An Aussie in “The Big Apple”?
Red-hot Australian Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) prospect-turned-contender Quillan Salkilld scored another first-round stoppage win last night, smashing Lightweight contender Mateusz Gamrot in his first UFC main event at UFC Vegas 120 inside Meta Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada (watch highlights).
It was by far the biggest win of Salkilld’s career — and insanely impressive.
The 26-year-old became the first fighter ever to stop Gamrot in the first round, announcing himself
as a real problem in the Lightweight division.
After his previous win over Beneil Dariush, Salkilld called for Gamrot. So, after knocking off the No. 8-ranked Lightweight, everyone waited to hear who the Aussie wanted next.
But he did not have a specific name.
Instead, Salkilld said he wants whoever gets him into the Top 5.
During the UFC Vegas 120 post-fight press conference, MMAmania.com threw out two possible scenarios. With Salkilld wanting to return in November for UFC’s annual Madison Square Garden card, he was asked if he would rather fight French madman Benoit Saint-Denis or the loser of the upcoming bout between Arman Tsarukyan and Mauricio Ruffy.
“Ooooh, s—t — who’s ranked higher?” Salkilld told MMAmania.com. “F—k. I don’t know. Honestly, any of the three would be wicked. S—t, that’s a tough one because it depends on the loss, too, on how Arman and Ruffy lose.”
“I think BSD is good because obviously his fight [with Pimblett] was not too long ago, and he didn’t really take any damage from that one, so he’s probably back in the gym ready to go,” Salkilld continued. “So, I’ll say that because that seems like a more sure thing that could happen. I’m down.”
Salkilld vs. Saint-Denis inside Madison Square Garden?
That has violence written all over it.
Salkilld is now perfect inside the Octagon at 6-0, with five of those wins coming by first-round finish. He should leapfrog Gamrot in the Lightweight rankings next week and suddenly finds himself knocking on the door of the Top 5.
Meanwhile, Saint-Denis just saw his four-fight win streak come crashing down when he was put to sleep by Paddy Pimblett in just 52 seconds last month at UFC 329 (watch highlights).
That loss was obviously brutal, but it was also quick, meaning Saint-Denis did not absorb a ton of damage.
So, if UFC wants pure Lightweight violence at Madison Square Garden, Salkilld vs. Saint-Denis makes a whole lot of sense.
And the Aussie is down.
For complete UFC Vegas 120 results, coverage, and highlights click HERE.
