MMA
Quillan Salkilld explains why he wanted to fight Mateusz Gamrot: 'I've been wanting to fight him for a long time'
Published
9 hours agoon

Quillan Salkilld is set for his first UFC main event as he takes on Mateusz Gamrot at UFC Vegas 120 on Saturday.
Salkilld called out Gamrot after his last fight, and it's not an opponent that many call out. Yet, Salkilld wanted the matchup, and he enters the bout as a -154 favorite on FanDuel. Although Salkilld is the favorite, he knows it won't be an easy fight, which is why he wanted the bout.
“I've been wanting to fight him for a long time, for ages,†Salkilld said at UFC Vegas 120 media day. “He's someone who's respected, and he's always someone I've envisioned fighting, ever since I was coming up through the pro ranks. He's always someone I've pictured in fighting and a fun test to go up against. That's exactly why I called him out.
“The timing was right. There was a few other lightweights that were matched up, and he was coming off a win a few weeks before that, so at the time it just made sense to me. Yeah, he's tough. I'm not going to call anyone out who I think is going to be easy. That would make me a pussy. I want to call for the hard fights.â€
Quillan Salkilld wants hard fights
As Salkilld said, he wants hard fights, and he believes Gamrot will be a tough out on Saturday.
Salkilld knows Gamrot's wrestling can pose some problems, and it's something he wanted to test himself, which is why he called him out.
“I called for it in my last fight, and I'm glad they gave it to me,†Salkilld said. “He's a super tough fighter, no picnic for anyone, and that's exactly why I wanted the fight. I'm not looking to cherry-pick my way to the top of the division. I want hard fights. I want someone who's going to put a lot of respect on my name when I win against him.â€
Salkilld enters UFC Vegas 120 with a record of 12-1 and is coming off a first-round TKO win over Beneil Dariush. He lost his pro debut and has won 12-straight fights and is 5-0 in the UFC.
Do you think Quillan Salkilld will beat Mateusz Gamrot on Saturday?
This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM
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Bo Nickal vs. Olympic champion Shirvani Muradov set for RAF Moscow
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3 hours agoon
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Nickal will remain active on the wrestling mats while awaiting
his next
Ultimate Fighting Championship bout.
The UFC middleweight has been booked for another Real American
Freestyle matchup, as the promotion recently announced that Nickal
will face Olympic gold medalist Shirvani Muradov.
Bo Nickal prepares for Real American Freestyle matchup against
2008 Olympic gold medalist Shirvani Muradov
Nickal has booked another RAF appearance shortly after his RAF 12
bout with Max McEnelly, which will take place on Aug. 22. He will
face Muradov in Moscow on Sept. 5, according to an announcement
from RAF on X.
Nickal last competed at
UFC Freedom 250, where he earned a first-round victory over
Kyle
Daukaus to extend his winning streak. Instead of waiting for
his next fight, Nickal is continuing to hone his wrestling
skills.
The 30-year-old made his RAF debut at the promotion’s inaugural
event in August 2025, defeating Jacob Cardenas on points. This new
challenge could be a difficult one for Nickal. Muradov previously
won Olympic gold in freestyle wrestling at the 2008 Games in
Beijing in the 96kg (212 pounds) category. He also has far more
experience than the American collegiate wrestling standout.
RAF Moscow streams live on Fox Nation on Sept. 5.
3x NCAA Champ and Dan Hodge Trophy winner
Bo
Nickal will face Olympic Champ Shirvani Muradov SEP 5 at RAF
MOSCOW.Tickets coming soon. Join the presale list at the link in bio.
Watch live on @foxnation in the
U.S. Additional international broadcast details to be announced.
pic.twitter.com/YCyQiP4thk— Real American Freestyle (@RAFWrestlingUSA)
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MMA
Joe Rogan advises Rico Verhoeven to choose boxing over the UFC
Published
6 hours agoon
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Verhoeven will financially benefit more from boxing than from
joining the
Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Verhoeven recently asked for Rogan's suggestion about competing
inside the Octagon during an appearance on the UFC commentator's
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Joe Rogan says boxing makes the ‘most sense' as next career
move for Rico Verhoeven
The former Glory Kickboxing champion noted that Conor
McGregor had reportedly earned a massive payday for his return
fight last month, which lasted 69 seconds. However, Rogan advised
the 37-year-old against signing with the UFC at this point in his
career.
Rogan believes Verhoeven can earn more money in boxing. He also
claimed that Verhoeven's friend and training partner Tom
Aspinall could have a career in boxing in the future and that
the Brit will benefit from working with Eddie Hearn.
“For you, boxing makes the most sense, especially at this point in
your life, financially,†Rogan told Verhoeven. “For Tom, he has a
potential career in boxing as well. And now that Eddie Hearn is
managing him, which is very exciting because Matchroom being behind
him is gonna have a gigantic hype machine, gigantic promotion. They
are at odds with the UFC. For me, I care about the fighters making
the most money possible, and that's how [Tom] is gonna make the
most money possible.â€
Verhoeven vacated his Glory heavyweight title last year after
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champ Oleksandr Usyk this past May. While Verhoeven was a massive
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the later rounds.
Seemingly en route to a potentially monumental upset win, he was
knocked down late in the 11th round. While Verhoeven returned to
his feet, Usyk followed up and the referee bizarrely stopped the
fight with a second left in the stanza.
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