UFC lightweight contender Quillan Salkilld says he may have injured himself in his main event fight at UFC Vegas 120 against Mateusz Gamrot.
Salkilld defeated Gamrot via first-round submission when he tapped the veteran out with a vicious rear-naked choke. The win moved Salkilld to 6-0 in the UFC and closer to the top five of the stacked lightweight division.
However, the win may have come at a cost, as Salkilld says he may have injured himself in the fight.
Quillan Salkilld Reveals Potential Injury
Speaking to the UFC on Paramount+ post-fight show following UFC Vegas 120, Salkilld admitted that he may have suffered a knee injury against Gamrot early in the fight when his opponent attempted a leg lock.
“There was a wrestling exchange at the start where he grabbed my ankle. If it was training, I would have kind of gone with it to not hurt the knee. He had my ankle and it turned to like 90 degrees. Because I was being stubborn in that position, I didn’t want to accept any bad position. I turned into it and forced it. Usually I didn’t want to do that because I’m always scared about hurting my knee in training,” Salkilld said (via MMAFighting.com).
“This one, I just went into it and heard a little pop. Even when I had that rear-naked choke, I actually felt it. I was like (expletive), if I don’t get this, my knee’s going to be sore later. In round two or three, it would have been (sore). It’s a bit sore now.”
What’s Next for Quillan Salkilld?
Before Salkilld can think about who he wants to get matched up against next, he needs to see a doctor and get his knee checked out to assess any potential damage.
“I have a little bit of a twinge in the knee right now from one of the wrestling exchanges. For the time being, my focus on seeing what the damage is, I don’t think it’s too bad, but that’s the next thing on my mind to be honest. Then we’ll be looking at closing in on that top five,” Salkilld said.
Despite potentially suffering a knee injury, though, Salkilld feels as though he can make a speedy recovery and get back into the cage soon, as he hopes to fight at UFC 334, which takes place in November at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
“I’m like Wolverine, no matter what the injury is, I’m going to recover quick. The dream fight would be at (Madison Square Garden), New York. There’s always a card usually in November so shit, fingers crossed, I can get matched up on that,” Salkilld said.
The Aussie also mentioned that he would be very intrigued by a potential matchup against Benoit Saint Denis at MSG, so we’ll see if the UFC matchmakers feel the same way about that potential fight and if they would be open to booking the two stud international lightweights against each other in a key 155 lbs bout on one of the UFC’s biggest numbered cards this year.
Quillan Salkilld May Have Injured Himself in UFC Vegas 120 Win