Quillan Salkilld | Season 2

“My main goal last year was to develop a bit of a name and I’m sure I’ve done that. Now this year, it’s time to really make my mark and start getting into the rankings.

“Honestly, nothing else has surprised me; it’s everything I’ve been expecting,” reiterated Salkilld, as smooth on camera as he has been in the cage. “Over the years, I’ve visualized this and it’s gone pretty much according to how I would have expected it.”

Saturday's Full UFC 325 Card Preview

Just as the music industry often looks as artists that deliver a breakout first album and wait with bated breath to see if the second album will measure up, MMA audiences are often the same way when it comes to emerging talents that shine straight out of the gates and rocket into prominence.

Like his fellow DWCS Season 8 classmates Mansur Abdul Malik and Ateba Gautier, Salkilld is at or near the top of every list of potential 2026 breakout candidates and fighters to watch in the sport. After closing the year by walking off Haqparast with style points, it’s impossible not to view him that way as he readies to begin his second year in the UFC, but with that comes increased scrutiny and heighten expectations, not to mention more daunting assignments.

Each of those things individually has the ability to weigh on a young fighter and all three combined are landmarks on the road to a less successful follow-up campaign, but the confident Salkilld knows exactly what he needs to do in order to avoid those pitfalls and build on last year’s successes.

“I just keep doing what I do,” he said when asked about the challenge of dealing with the new crush of attention coming his way. “I don’t really try to balance it — I take it in; I go with it because these are the things that excite me. As long as I keep sticking to what I’ve been doing to get me to the dance and continue doing so, I know I’m gonna be just fine.

UFC 325 Fight Week Guide

“I’m at the stage where I’m not satisfied yet, so you’ve got to keep pushing towards bigger and better goals,” continued the 26-year-old, who has earned 10 consecutive wins since dropping his professional debut, with seven of those victories coming inside the distance. “I’m one of those guys that no matter what, I always wanna do more and do better, so I think over the next performances, no matter how good they are, I’m always gonna wanna keep chasing bigger and better things, and I think that keeps me on the right path.”

This weekend in Sydney, Salkilld steps in with fellow Aussie Jamie Mullarkey, who replaced China’s Rongzhu when the Road to UFC tournament winner was forced from the card for undisclosed reasons.

Typically, international events such as UFC 325 take on a “Host Nation versus Everyone” complexion with very little friendly fire that forces the partisan crowd to pick which of the two combatants in the Octagon they want to support. But for the engaging lightweight prospect, the chance to compete at home remains one he’ll accept every time he can, and the chance to face off with a compatriot is something that actually gets him fired up.

MORE UFC 325: Aussie Breakdown | Volk's Greatest Hits | Full Circle For Rowston | Elliott's Edge | Ofli Conquers | Countdown

“I love fighting at home, on home soil,” began Salkilld, who trains alongside fellow UFC 325 combatant Sebastian Szalay and fellow DWCS Class of ’25 alum Cody Haddon. “Every card that’s here, I want to be on. Although it’s so exciting getting to travel to new places, getting to compete, crossing oceans, fighting at home is always something special. It’s gonna be good, and there is nothing more exciting than two Aussies going at each other.

“People are like, ‘It’s a shame to see Aussie-on-Aussie,’ but I tell you what,” he continued, pausing and smiling wide. “For the fans watching elsewhere, there is gonna be nothing more entertaining than watching two Aussies go at it. One Aussie is good enough, but imagine two?”

A fixture on the UFC roster since the late stages of 2019, Mullarkey has carved out a reputation as a hard assignment for anyone in the 155-pound weight class; a well-rounded and gritty veteran entering the weekend off the high of a return to the win column last September in Salkilld’s hometown.

“I’m expecting a tough fight,” acknowledged the Perth man. “I know he’s not the type of guy to quit when things get hard. I know if I crack him good, if I start putting the pace on him, I know he’s gonna stick with it; he’s gonna bite down and gimme everything he has.

“I know I’m in for a tough fight,” Salkilld said, doubling down. “That’s how we Aussies get down — we’re not easy matchup for anyone, let alone ourselves.”

Following one of the best rookie campaigns in recent memory, the ascending lightweight is true to his word when asked his goals and ambitions for his sophomore year in the Octagon.

“Honestly, I just want to keep the momentum coming from last year,” he stated. “Last year was three fights, three wins, two bonuses, so maybe this year is three fights, three wins, three bonuses?

“I’ll just try to one up, and each time, I’ll just keep it like that for as long as I can until I reach the belt.”

Circle the date on your calendar: Season 2 of The Quillan Salkilld Show begins on Saturday at UFC 325.