Quillan Salkilld proves he’s the future

Quillan Salkilld is the future.

Being given his first promotional headliner at the APEX arena, Quillan Salkilld was tasked with taming Mateusz Gamrot. Gamrot, a long time staple of the lightweight division, stood no chance as Salkilld had answers every step of the way.

The future is bright for Salkilld. With the biggest win of his career by far, he’s extended his first round finish streak to four straight fights and won his 13th straight fight. With an aging lightweight division and young blood looking to take over, Salkilld put himself right in that mix at UFC Vegas 120.

UFC@ufc

HE'S THE REAL DEAL‼️ @quillansalkilld just dominated in his first UFC main event!! #UFCVegas120

2:36 AM · Aug 9, 2026 · 38.1K Views

94 Replies · 129 Reposts · 702 Likes

Quillan Salkilld may be the complete package. Truly the 26 year old Aussie can do it all. A perfect balance (as all things should be) between knockouts and submissions, Salkilld is a threat from anywhere.

At the onset of the fight, Gamrot was dropped by a stiff jab from the the Luistro Combat Academy lightweight. Gamrot managed to drop in on a leg and start to create the scrambles that the Polish native normally does. Salkilld was not deterred.

Several moments of the fight looked like Gamrot was close to reversing Salkilld. Looked like. Every step of the way, Salkilld had answers. He fought off the leg lock, prevented the lift, and punished Gamrot for doing what Gamrot always does.

Quillan Salkilld waded into the fire and came out unscathed.

The finishing sequence had the newly renovated UFC APEX arena blowing the roof off the building. As Gamrot looked to roll and deal with the body triangle of Quillan Salkilld on his back, Salkilld kept the lock in and started hunting the choke. Gamrot, putting his hands on the ground, found his neck taken. After defending a couple times, Gamrot finally made the fatal error.

Salkilld sunk in the choke and Gamrot was forced to tap. Time of defeat: 4:25 of the first round.

Lightweight is the UFC’s premier division, has been for decades. With aging legends like Justin Gaethje, Dustin Poirier and Charles Oliveira seeing the sun set on their careers, the young blood look to feast on their corpses. The old guard has been in this place for a while and looked incredible doing it.

Benoit Saint-Denis was turned away by Dustin Poirier. Paddy Pimblett and Ilia Topuria by Justin Gaethje. Even Max Holloway moved up and was handed an L by Oliveira. But the vultures are closing in.

Quillan Salkilld joins Pimblett, Saint-Denis and Arman Tsarukyan as the next to attempt a hostile take over the division. Salkilld’s win over Gamrot was his first step in dismantling the old guard. Soon, it will be these guys at the top.

Father Time, after all, is undefeated.