Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
Emerging Australian Quillan Salkilld has continued his run of first-round finishes by defeating veteran Mateusz Gamrot in their non-title lightweight bout at UFC Fight Night at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas.
Making his main-event debut on Saturday night, Salkilld took down his Polish rival with a rear-naked choke at 4:25 of the first round to seal a swift victory.
Salkilld (13-1) survived a Gamrot (26-5) leg-lock during an extensive grappling exchange in the scheduled five-round fight before working to the back and locking in the finish, earning the biggest victory of his career while extending his winning streak to 13 fights.
The 26-year-old West Australian, who has now won his past four fights and five of his last six in the first round, called for a step up in competition after the victory.
“I think I deserve someone who’s in the top five or close to it,” Salkilld said.
Following the victory, the No.12-ranked Salkilld positioned himself for a match-up near the top of the lightweight division, while the No.8-ranked Gamrot absorbed a setback against one of the division’s fastest-rising contenders.
In the co-main event, Diego Ferreira (20-7) landed more than 135 significant strikes across 15 minutes to earn a unanimous decision against Billy Quarantillo (18-8) in their lightweight bout.
All three judges scored the fight 30-27 for Ferreira, a Texas-based Brazilian who kept his rival on the defensive in Quarantillo’s first Octagon appearance in more than 600 days after suffering a knee injury, and his first lightweight fight since 2017.
Darren Elkins’ UFC retirement fight ended unceremoniously as Yadier del Valle (11-1) needed one left hook to secure a TKO stoppage 35 seconds into the opening round of their featherweight bout.
Del Valle quickly closed the show against Elkins (29-13), spoiling the longtime veteran’s final Octagon appearance while rebounding from the first loss of his career in February.
Strawweight Alexia Thainara (15-1) utilised a relentless pace and a variety of takedowns alongside unorthodox striking to earn a unanimous decision against former strawweight contender Amanda Lemos (15-7-1) in their all-Brazilian matchup.
Unbeaten welterweight Ty Miller (8-0) opened the main card by stopping Billy Ray Goff (9-5) via TKO 15 seconds into the third round.
