5 Things to Know About UFC Rising Star Quillan Salkilld Before His First Main Event

Australia's next big lightweight didn't come up through a childhood martial-arts pipeline — he skated, he chased a footy career, and then MMA swallowed everything else whole. Now, just a year and a half into his UFC run, Quillan Salkilld is 5-0 in the promotion and headlining his first main event. Here are five things you need to know about him before he shares the Octagon with Mateusz Gamrot.

1. He went from skateboarding and footy to MMA — fast

Salkilld grew up in the isolated coastal town of Broome, Western Australia, and chased two other dreams before combat sports ever entered the picture.

"I got into skateboarding when I was about 13. Me being me, I liked it, so I wanted to go all in and go pro. After skateboarding, I got into footy. All of a sudden, within a couple of weeks, it was like, 'This is it. I want to become a pro footy player.' It was during that time that I discovered MMA. I started training, and it took over very quickly. Within the span of about a month, I lost all interest in footy. From that point on, I just wanted to do MMA." — UFC Journey: Gamrot vs. Salkilld

He actually moved to Perth to pursue Australian rules football, then fell in love with MMA instead after being pulled in around 2018. He's since built his entire career at Luistro Combat Academy under head coach Romel Luistro.

2. He asked to compete just two weeks into training

Most beginners spend years easing into the sport. Salkilld went straight to his coach and asked for a fight almost immediately.

"After meeting my coach, I went up to him and said, 'I want to compete.' I was pretty much just letting him know what my aspirations were. I think within the span of about two weeks, he said, 'Hey, there's a show coming up in about eight to ten weeks. We'll get you on.' As soon as I heard that, I was so pumped. I was like, 'Yep, this is it. I want to do this.'

That "all-in" mentality is exactly what his coaches credit for how quickly he's climbed.

3. He lost his pro debut — and it's still the only loss on his record

Salkilld competed as an amateur from 2018 to 2020, finishing that run with a record of 7-3. He then made his professional debut in 2021 and lost via submission — the only defeat on his pro record to this day.

Here's the fun part: he's admitted he also lost his very first amateur fight and his first kickboxing bout. As he put it, he's "just not allowed to win the first one" — like a mulligan.

Since that pro debut loss, he's rattled off 11 straight wins, nine by stoppage, captured the Eternal MMA lightweight title with two defenses, and earned a UFC deal on Dana White's Contender Series. Losing your pro debut and going on to become a champion puts him in company with names like Alex Pereira, Amanda Nunes, Merab Dvalishvili and fellow Aussie Jack Della Maddalena.

4. He jokes that the mustache gives him power

Salkilld is instantly recognizable for his trademark mustache — and on UFC Journey, while trimming it, he only half-joked that the 'stache is where his finishing power comes from. It's become part of his identity right alongside his clinical striking.

But, in Islam Makhachev’s words, we have to check that moment. And after looking at his record you realize the mustache didn’t change a lot, as he was already a finisher.

5. He's headlining his first UFC card just 1.5 years after his debut

Salkilld made his UFC debut in February 2025. Barely a year and a half later, he's 5-0 in the promotion — with four Performance of the Night bonuses and a run that includes a short-notice head-kick knockout of Nasrat Haqparast and a first-round TKO of Beneil Dariush in front of a home crowd in Perth. That earned him UFC.com's 2025 Newcomer of the Year award.

Now ranked No. 12 at lightweight, he headlines UFC Fight Night: Gamrot vs. Salkilld on August 8, 2026, at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas — his sixth UFC fight, against No. 8 Mateusz Gamrot. And he didn't back into this one: Salkilld called Gamrot out himself after the Dariush finish, something almost nobody does.

"I don't want to run from hard fights."

Well-rounded, motivated, and backed by a team that genuinely believes he's championship material — Salkilld looks every bit like a fighter on his way up. On Saturday, we find out just how far.