The last time Quillan Salkilld fought in front of his home fans, it was his UFC debut – and he delivered a 19-second knockout.
That was all the way across Australia in Sydney, though. Salkilld is from Perth. To put that in perspective, it’s like telling someone from Atlanta that they’re fighting “at home” – in Los Angeles. They’re about the same distance away.
So Saturday at UFC Fight Night 275, just think what Salkilld could do when he gets to step in the cage in his actual home city – just a few minutes from where he puts his head down at night.
Salkilld (11-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) has the biggest test of his career, and the biggest opportunity, in the co-main event at RAC Arena when he takes on Beneil Dariush (23-7-1 MMA, 17-7-1 UFC) It’s the kind of win that could propel the 26-year-old Salkilld right into title contention at lightweight.
He also might have to keep his emotions in check.
“This is so cool for me,” Salkilld said at Thursday’s pre-fight news conference in Perth. “I’ve been envisioning fighting guys such as Beneil for years. Now that we’re finally here, I just think this is sick. We’re at this stage, and I’ve just got to stay vigilant and not do anything stupid, and we walk away with the job done.
“(This is) a dream come true – waiting for this for eight years now. I went to the first event (in Perth, UFC 221). I remember sitting up there and thinking how cool would it be to fight in this same arena. Now we can do it.”
Salkilld has essentially stormed the lightweight division right out of the gate. After his 19-second bonus-winning promotional debut against Anshul Jubli in Sydney, he got 15 minutes of cage time against Yanal Ashmouz before he went back to his finishing ways.
At UFC 321, his third straight pay-per-view booking, he knocked out Nasrat Haqparast with a nasty first-round head kick. And in January at UFC 325, again in Sydney, he got his first submission finish in the UFC when he tapped Jamie Mullarkey with a first-round rear-naked choke.
All his UFC finishes have earned post-fight bonuses, which should be enough to put the other 155-pounders on notice already. But none of his opponents so far have had as much overall experience as Dariush, let alone his experience in the UFC – more than a dozen years and 25 fights.
Yet it’s Salkilld who is, at 5-1, the second biggest betting favorite on the card. So the experts are paying attention, even if other lightweights aren’t yet. (But newsflash: They are.) A win over Dariush almost certainly would have Salkilld ranked next week, perhaps as high as Dariush’s current No. 12 spot in the UFC’s official rankings.
“I’m just trying to prove that I belong in the upper echelon of the division,” Salkilld said. “This is my path, and to get to do it in front of my home crowd and go home 10 minutes down the road, this is going to be a sick, sick night.
“… I want them to see a dangerous, hungry lightweight coming in, hungry to take their spot. And I want to put myself right on the map and make them very wary of what’s to come.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Quillan Salkilld hungry for Beneil Dariush’s ranking at UFC Perth