UFC 325: West Australian Quillan Salkilld earns four-fight deal ahead of bout against Jamie Mullarkey

Quillan Salkilld’s incredible rise in the UFC has no signs of slowing down after the West Australian signed a new four-fight deal on the back of his most impressive win to date. Salkilld (10-1) will step into the Octagon for a fourth time in the promotion when he faces fellow Australian lightweight Jamie Mullarkey (18-8) at UFC 325 in Sydney on Sunday. Mullarkey has stepped in after Salkilld’s original opponent Rongzhu withdrew because of injury. It means a battle of countrymen will take place at Qudos Bank Arena in a bout that will now open the pay-per-view which will be headlined by Australian champion Alexander Volkanovski who will defend the featherweight strap against Diego Lopez. For Salkilld, it is just reward after a phenomenal 2025, when he not only won three fights but claimed one of the knockouts of the season when he kicked Nasrat Haqparast in the head in October. It was a first-round knockout that caught attention around the world and transformed the 26-year-old from Broome into a fighter to watch. “I’ve got a lot of people expecting big things of me, especially myself and I am just going in there looking to not let anyone down and continue the momentum and the streak,” Salkilld told The West Australian. “This is what I have been looking for this whole time, since I started. I like all the attention, the pressure and the expectations. This is what I live for, it’s a thrill. “People like to skydive and I like to fight people in a cage and have a lot of people expect big things from me. Have that pressure to perform and try to live up to those expectations, it’s what I live for.” Mullarkey is coming off an impressive unanimous decision win over Rolando Bedoya (14-4) in September and Salkilld said he expected a tough bout from the New South Welshman. “He’s had some wars and he has been finished a few times now in the UFC, so I know with the power I’ve got, if I crack him good he’s going to go down,” Salkilld said. “I know if he doesn’t go down it’s going to be one hell of a fight. He’s not going to quit, he’s not the type to get tired and start to wear down. “He will fight through thick and thin to the very end, so if I don’t put him away it’s going to be a hard scrap.” As part of his preparation, Queenslander Tom Nolan spent a week this month training alongside Salkilld at Luistro Combat Academy. “We went in and trained really well together. There’s no egos, we trained and had fun,” he said. “It was really tough, some tough technical rounds and I want to do more. I want to head to Brisbane to train with him. “In terms of technique and set ups, he is crafty. And you’ve got to be craft back so it’s a bit of a chess match when you’re sparring a guy like that.”