Top prospect Quillan Salkilld returns for the first time since his amazing win over Mateusz Gamrot in August. The Australian lightweight takes on Benoît Saint Denis on February 6 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The fight takes place at the Afterpay Arena. It’s the main event of UFC Sydney.
The UFC announced the match-up moments ago. The Australian fighter is ranked No. 7 in the UFC Media rankings and No. 6 in the UFC Meta rankings, while it is the exact reverse for his French opponent. With a victory, both fighters hope to challenge the division’s top five later in 2027.
Another Big Fight
Quillan Salkilld is one of the newer guys in the top 15 in the lightweight division. The Australian fighter was the Eternal MMA champion in Australia and was invited in 2024 to the Contender Series. Salkilld fought Gauge Young and won after three rounds via unanimous decision. UFC president Dana White liked the fight a lot and gave Salkilld a contract. He debuted in Sydney in February 2025 for the UFC with a quick finish over Anshul Jubli, which earned him the ‘Performance of the Night’ bonus. Four months later, he fought to a unanimous decision win against Yanal Ashmouz. To date, it is his most competitive fight in the UFC.
Salkilld ended 2025 with a highlight-reel head-kick knockout against Nasrat Haqparast in the first round. With three wins in his debut year, the sky was the limit for the young Australian. Also this year, he kept on finishing his opponents. After first-round finishes over Jamie Mullarkey and Beneil Dariush. Salkilld got his first main event opportunity from the UFC to take on Mateusz Gamrot. Gamrot, known as a very tough fighter, was also finished by rear-naked choke in the first round by Salkilld. The Australian fighter has now won five of his first six fights in the UFC in the first round and earned a bonus for all of his finishes. Now he takes on Benoît Saint Denis.
Losing Is Not An Option
For Saint Denis, the fight against Salkilld is a very important one. The Frenchman lost his most recent fight, which should’ve led to big opportunities in the division. Another loss would push him back even more. Saint Denis was signed on short notice in 2021 by the UFC to take on Elizeu Zaleski Dos Santos, a weight class up. In one of the worst beatdowns in the UFC, he lost by unanimous decision. Saint Denis immediately went back to his normal weight class after the fight. At lightweight, Saint Denis was a force to be reckoned with. After winning five fights between 2022 and 2023, the French fighter got a big step up in competition to take on former interim champion Dustin Poirier.
Saint Denis looked great early on, but gassed heavily in the second round and lost by knockout. After also losing at home by TKO to Renato Moicano in a contender fight, the French fighter looked further away than ever. But Saint Denis was able to bounce back with big wins over Mauricio Ruffy. Beneil Dariush and Dan Hooker. It led to a fight earlier this year against former title challenger Paddy Pimblett. Saint Denis had a horrible game plan and was choked out within a minute. He now gets the opportunity to bounce back against the up-and-coming Salkilld. A very tough task.
UFC Sydney
- Quillan Salkilld vs. Benoît Saint Denis
Top Prospect Quillan Salkilld Headlines at UFC Sydney