Quillan Salkilld delivered the biggest win of his career at UFC Vegas 120, but the rising lightweight contender may have picked up an injury along the way.
Salkilld faced the toughest test of his career when he squared off against former top-ranked lightweight Mateusz Gamrot in the main event. The Australian standout passed with flying colors, securing a stunning first-round rear-naked choke submission and further cementing his status as one of the UFC’s fastest-rising prospects.
The victory is expected to push Quillan Salkilld closer to the lightweight division’s elite after defeating a fighter who entered the bout ranked No. 6 in the division. However, despite the dominant performance, Salkilld admitted he may not have escaped the fight completely healthy.
Speaking during the UFC Vegas 120 post-fight show, Salkilld revealed that he felt a concerning pop in his knee during an early wrestling exchange with Gamrot.
“There was a wrestling exchange at the start where he grabbed my ankle,” Salkilld said. “If it was training, I would have kind of gone with it to not hurt the knee. He had my ankle and it turned to like 90 degrees. Because I was being stubborn in that position, I didn’t want to accept any bad position. I turned into it and forced it. Usually I didn’t want to do that because I’m always scared about hurting my knee in training.
“This one, I just went into it and heard a little pop. Even when I had that rear-naked choke, I actually felt it. I was like f*ck, if I don’t get this, my knee’s going to be sore later. In round two or three, it would have been [sore]. It’s a bit sore now.”
Fortunately for Quillan Salkilld, the injury didn’t prevent him from taking control of the fight. After surviving the early grappling exchanges, he secured a takedown of his own before quickly locking in the fight-ending rear-naked choke.
The impressive finish extended Salkilld’s remarkable winning streak and further strengthened his case as a future title contender. Since suffering a submission loss in his professional MMA debut in 2021, the Australian has been flawless inside the cage.
Quillan Salkilld has now won 13 consecutive fights, with his last four victories all coming via first-round finishes. That run includes a highlight-reel head-kick knockout over Nasrat Haqparast and now a submission victory over one of the division’s most respected contenders.
Despite the momentum, Salkilld isn’t looking too far ahead just yet. His immediate focus remains on determining the severity of the knee issue before discussing his next opponent.
“I have a little bit of a twinge in the knee right now from one of the wrestling exchanges,” Salkilld said. “For the time being, my focus on seeing what the damage is, I don’t think it’s too bad, but that’s the next thing on my mind to be honest. Then we’ll be looking at closing in on that top 5.”
If the injury proves minor, Quillan Salkilld could find himself on the verge of a top-10 ranking and potentially just one or two victories away from breaking into the lightweight division’s top five.
