Rising UFC star Quillan Salkilld is addicted to winning, and the Australian wants Mateusz Gamrot to be the next lightweight scalp to feel the wrath of his power.
Salkilld continued his unbeaten start to life in the UFC with a brutal round-one knockout of veteran Beneil Dariush in Perth on Saturday night.
It improved Salkilld's UFC record to a perfect 5-0 - four of which have been round-one knockouts - and his overall MMA record now stands at 12-1.
The 26-year-old is set to earn a top-15 ranking following his demolition of No.12-ranked Dariush, and he has publicly called out No.7-ranked lightweight Gamrot (26-4) as his next opponent.
"Mainly the grappling, the scrambles," Salkilld said about the lure of fighting Polish star Gamrot.
"Gamrot just had a win recently, a good one, and he's ranked seven, so I'm thinking that's a good next step before getting into the top five."
Salkilld has already earned $250,000 in bonuses since joining the UFC in 2025 for the stunning nature of his wins.
But as welcome as the cash is, the biggest prize Salkilld desires is the belt.
The 26-year-old declared he was "speed running" his charge to a shot at the title,
"I'm kind of addicted to this feeling and to the possibility of getting bonuses each time," Salkilld said.
"The money's good and the feelings are good."
He added his next dream was "the belt ... getting that championship belt."
While Salkilld's star is on the rise, former welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena faces plenty of soul searching after suffering back-to-back losses.
Della Maddalena was completely outclassed on the grappling front when he lost a five-round fight to future Hall of Famer Islam Makhachev in New York last year.
And the way Carlos Prates was able to destroy Della Maddalena's leading leg and unleash a series of knees and jabs to the face throughout Saturday's fight in Perth raised plenty more questions about the West Australian.
Della Maddalena was left bloodied and broken by the time the technical knockout arrived in the third round, and he now faces a long path back to the welterweight title.
Prates (24-7) was ranked as the No.5 contender in the welterweight division before his win over Della Maddalena, and the 32-year-old feels he has done enough to warrant a title bid against current champion Makhachev.
But he may need to be patient, with Makhachev expected to first take on Ian Machado Garry in August.
Garry was brutal in his assessment of Della Maddalena's performance against Prates.
"Jack had nothing. Nothing." Garry posted on X.
Australian flyweight Steve Erceg (14-4) is looking to stay active after posting his second win in a row with a unanimous decision triumph over Tim Elliott.
