Australian UFC fighter Quillan Salkilld has continued his impressive run of form. (Getty Images: Zuffa LLC\/Jeff Bottari)<\/p>\n
Australian Quillan Salkilld has won his first UFC main event, defeating Mateusz Gamrot with a rear-naked choke in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n
Salkilld is on a 13-fight win streak and has won his last four fights in the first round.<\/p>\n
Salkilld says he is ready to be challenged by a fighter ranked in the UFC's lightweight top five.<\/p>\n
The moment was not too big for Quillan Salkilld.<\/p>\n
Making his main event debut, the Australian's run of first-round finishes continued on Saturday night local time in Las Vegas as he defeated veteran Mateusz Gamrot with a rear-naked choke at 4:25 of the first round of their non-title lightweight bout at UFC Fight Night at the UFC APEX.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Salkilld, 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.<\/p>\n
"I think I deserve someone who's in the top five or close to it," Salkilld said.<\/p>\n
Following the victory, the number 12-ranked Salkilld positioned himself for a match-up near the top of the lightweight division, while the number eight-ranked Gamrot absorbed a setback against one of the division's fastest-rising contenders.<\/p>\n
Saturday's event marked the UFC's return to Las Vegas after two events abroad, in Abu Dhabi on July 25 and then Belgrade last Saturday.<\/p>\n
In the co-main event, Diego Ferreira (20-7 MMA) landed more than 135 significant strikes across 15 minutes to earn a unanimous decision against Billy Quarantillo (18-8 MMA) in their lightweight bout.\u00a0<\/p>\n
All three judges scored the fight 30-27 for Ferreira, who kept Quarantillo 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.<\/p>\n
Darren Elkins's UFC retirement fight ended unceremoniously as Yadier del Valle (11-1 MMA) needed one left hook to secure a TKO stoppage 35 seconds into the opening round of their featherweight bout.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Del Valle quickly closed the show against Elkins (29-13 MMA), spoiling the longtime veteran's final Octagon appearance while rebounding from the first loss of his career in February.<\/p>\n