Quillan Salkilld wants to test his grappling before entering the upper echelon of lightweight.
Salkilld (21-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) scored a come-from-behind TKO of Beneil Dariush (23-8-1 MMA, 17-8-1 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 275 co-main event at RAC Arena in Perth, Western Australia.
He called out Mateusz Gamrot (26-4 MMA, 9-4 UFC), who returned to the win column by submitting Esteban Ribovics at UFC 327 last month.
“Mainly the grappling and scrambles,” Salkilld told reporters of Gamrot during the UFC Fight Night 275 post-fight news conference. “I watched the Dariush vs. Gamrot fight many times leading into this fight. Gamrot just had a win recently, a good one, and he’s ranked (No.) 7 so, I’m thinking that’s a good next step before getting into the top five.”
Having already fought twice in 2026, Salkilld wants to remain active. Although he was dropped early before rallying for the finish, he came out unscathed from the fight.
“In a few months,” Salkilld said on fighting Gamrot. “I don’t know how much damage he took in his last fight. I’m all right, so I think that’s something that can be set up for the near future in a few months’ time.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Why Quillan Salkilld thinks Mateusz Gamrot is a ‘good next step’