Athletes
Quillan Salkilld | Hungry To Build On Memorable Debut
Australian Lightweight Looks To Continue The Momentum Of His 19-Second Knockout When He Faces Yanal Ashmouz At UFC 316
It doesn’t get much better than earning a 19-second knockout in your UFC debut in front of your home country fans.
That was the case for Perth’s Quillan Salkilld, who made his debut earlier this year at UFC 312 in Sydney, knocking out Anshul Jubli in 19 seconds. It was a picture-perfectmoment for the lightweight prospect.
“It was really special,” Salkilld said. “Being at home pretty much and on a big UFC pay-per-view event, it was wicked, and how it all played out it was a fairytale ending. It couldn't have gone any more perfect.”
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Now, the Australian is days away from his sophomore outing in the Octagon, as he prepares to face Yanal Ashmouz at UFC 316 in Newark, New Jersey. It’s a long journey from Perth to pretty much anywhere in the world, and often takes a few extra days to get adjusted to the time zone the athlete is competing in.
To help reduce that a little bit, Salkilld came to the United States a bit early, and took some time to train and recover at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas. Not only did it help him get adjusted, but he also got to use resources he doesn’t have back at home.
“There are better facilities here than we've got at home, so, in that aspect, especially being able to use the cage,” Salkilld said. “I've never prepared for a fight using an actual Octagon. I've been sparring on the mat, so that was cool. It was a tactical decision to make to get used to the time zone difference and all the travel, to get it out of the way early, get an extra week to come in and acclimatize and now we're coming into fight week feeling really good.”
Salkilld gets to make his second walk to the Octagon on another big pay-per-view event, with an arena filled with fans. It’s something that fuels him, and something that he has become accustomed to after competing on the regional scene in Eternals MMAevents.
WATCH: Quillan Salkilld's Fight Week Interview
“I love the bigger arenas and the crowd and all the noise; that gets me really kicking,” Salkilld said. “Even at home on the local shows, Eternals MMA held it at a stadium, so I kind of got a good taste of the bright lights and big arenas early on. For me, that's what really gets me going is a big spectacle.”
Staying active early in his career is something that is important to Salkilld, who wants people to remember who is, and wants to build on the memorable knockout he had a few months back.
His opponent, Ashmouz, steps into his fourth UFC fight, having picked two wins inside the Octagon, with the only loss in his career coming against Chris Duncan in 2023. All but two of his wins have ended inside the distance, which is something that Salkilldknows he has to watch out for.
“He is quite wild on the feet,” Salkilld said. “That's always going to be dangerous; he throws a random spin and throws quite powerful, so I've got to stay very disciplined on the feet to make sure I don't get caught with any of those. When it comes to the grappling, I think his takedowns are very technical. He sets them up really well. His submission threat I don't think is too great from my point of view, so I'm just going tomake sure I scramble like hell when he shoots on me.”
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When he envisions a perfect fight inside Prudential Center on Saturday night, Salkilldimagines another knockout victory, and potentially a Performance of the Night bonus, as well. He is eager to show off more of his skillset, since fans only got to see a small sliver of it back in February. The Dana White’s Contender Series alum wants to have a few exchanges, maybe get some back and forth going between him and Ashmouz, butwants to get the job done inside the 15 minutes.
Above all, Salkilld wants to represent Perth MMA, which is on fire right now, after Jack Della Maddalena defeated Belal Muhammad last month at UFC 315 to become the welterweight champion. Salkilld draws motivation from that moment, and wants to put on for his city, just like Della Maddalena.
“This is one of my goals. I do want to put, not just my country, but my home city, on the map, so I’m doing this for Perth. I can't wait to make the region much more well known.”
UFC 316: Dvalishvili vs O'Malley 2 took place live from Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on June 7, 2025. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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