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Daniel Cormier suggests Quillan Salkilld is ready for top 5 opponent following stellar UFC Vegas 120 win

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1 month ago

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Daniel Cormier suggests Quillan Salkilld is ready for top 5 opponent following stellar UFC Vegas 120 win
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Is Quillan Salkilld ready to face the best lightweights in the world? Daniel Cormier would like to have that question answered sooner than later.

Salkilld has been turning some heads within the MMA community, and he only made the conversation louder this past Saturday. The undefeated 26-year-old was facing what was thought to be his toughest test to date in Mateusz Gamrot. Salkilld landed on Gamrot early on before the action hit the mat. The surging Australian was able to secure a submission win via rear-naked choke in the first round.

Not many had Salkilld securing a submission on their bingo card, but that's what the emerging star did. In the aftermath of UFC Vegas 120, Cormier hopped on his YouTube channel and said Salkilld has looked even more impressive against Gamrot and Beneil Dariush than Charles Oliveira did (via MMAJunkie).

“I would have probably given you multiple scenarios on how that fight played out. Salkilld submitting Gamrot was not one of them in the least,†Cormier said. “Quillan Salkilld has now done to Beneil Dariush and Mateusz Gamrot, what Charles Oliveira has done, but faster – and better, honestly.

“It's always fun when you get a young prospect who truly does announce himself to the elite, and you get the feel it's believable, and he can take this past what many thought he could. That was not only a victory, that was a statement.â€

With Salkilld seemingly on a superstar rise, many have wondered if he'll be due for a marquee fight against a top five-ranked lightweight next. If that is the case, you won't be hearing any complaints from Cormier.

“I would not be upset if this young man got a Charles Oliveira,†Cormier said. “I would not be upset if this man got a Paddy Pimblett. I would not be upset if this young man got a Benoit Saint Denis – somewhere in that range of fighter that allows him to continue his ascent up the rankings if he gets a victory. It's hard now to see a matchup style that he can't handle.â€

While Salkilld has time on his side, he'll hope to avoid being sidelined following UFC Vegas 120. He revealed to reporters that at some point during the fight against Gamrot, he heard a pop in his knee. Salkilld admitted he was sore after the fight, and so far there's been no update on his knee.

Is Quillan Salkilld ready for a top five-ranked UFC lightweight? Who would you match him up against next? Tell us in the comments below.

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM

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MMA

Dana White adds $50K to Sean Sharaf’s bonus for shocking UFC 331 upset

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2 hours ago

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September 20, 2026

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Dana White adds $50K to Sean Sharaf’s bonus for shocking UFC 331 upset
Dana
White added $50k of his own to the UFC
331 bonuses.

The latest numbered event went down at Crypto.com Arena on Sept. 19
in Los Angeles. The main event earned Fight of the Night honors,
with Joshua Van
defending his flyweight title in a rematch against Alexandre
Pantoja. A special performance bonus in collaboration with the
Paramount+ series “MobLand†was also on deck.

Sean Sharaf knocked out Gable Steveson in just 12 seconds at
UFC 331

Both Van and Pantoja earned $100k each for their instant classic.
Arman
Tsarukyan earned a $100k Performance of the Night bonus for
knocking out Mauricio
Ruffy in the co-main event. Tsarukyan ate an early right hand
from Ruffy that left him visibly damaged. He then caught Ruffy in a
clinch and put him to sleep with two elbows on the break.

Casey
O'Neill (12-2) earned the other $100k POTN bonus for her
submission win over Eduarda
Moura on the prelims. Moura caught an early kick from O'Neill
and took her down. However, O'Neill maintained composure and
suddenly caught Moura in an armbar while flipping her over.

Sean
Sharaf earned a special $50k bonus from the
Ultimate Fighting Championship's broadcast partner Paramount+,
as part of the promotion for the new season of “MobLand,†for his
upset win over Gable
Steveson. The ex-United States Marine put Steveson to sleep
with a left hook in just 12 seconds in a monumental upset. White
added $50k of his own to Sharaf's bonus.

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MMA

Patricio ‘Pitbull’ makes violent case for new UFC deal with Round 1 KO

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4 hours ago

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September 20, 2026

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Patricio ‘Pitbull’ makes violent case for new UFC deal with Round 1 KO
Patricio
“Pitbull†Freire delivered a statement win in a bid to extend
his stay in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Freire took on Doo Ho Choi
(17-5) in a featherweight tilt at UFC
331 on Sept. 19 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. This being
the last fight of his contract, Freire repeatedly stated his desire
to continue fighting in the UFC and promised to put on a
performance worthy of a contract renewal.

Patricio Freire knocks out Doo Ho Choi at UFC 331 before
calling out Jean Silva

Freire backed up his promise, dropping Choi with a monstrous right
hand to earn a first-round finish. Having had a lukewarm UFC career
before UFC 331, the former Bellator
champ apologized to fans and called out Jean Silva,
who is known for barking at his opponents, to determine the bigger
dog amongst the two.

“I'm sorry about my last three fights,†Freire said in his
post-fight interview. “I feel that [UFC 331] was my debut. I don't
know what happened to me. But I'm so happy… The pressure here is
bigger [than Bellator]. But now I feel comfortable… Jean Silva,
let's see who is the dog.â€

Freire (38-9) previously lost to Yair
Rodriguez and Aaron Pico
in the UFC, while edging a lackluster unanimous decision against
Dan
Ige. Meanwhile, Silva (18-3) has finished five of his six UFC
wins, while only losing to two-time title challenger Diego
Lopes. “Lord†beat Jose
Delgado at
Noche UFC 4 earlier this month.

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MMA

Arman Tsarukyan says Justin Gaethje is scared to fight him: ‘He’s trying to avoid me’

Published

7 hours ago

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September 20, 2026

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Arman Tsarukyan says Justin Gaethje is scared to fight him: ‘He’s trying to avoid me’

Arman Tsarukyan has a message for Justin Gaethje: I'm next.

On Saturday night, Tsarukyan scored arguably the biggest win of his career, knocking out Mauricio Ruffy in the co-main event of UFC 331 in Los Angeles. Viewed by many as a title eliminator bout, lightweight champion Justin Gaethje sat cageside for the fight, and kicking off his post-fight press conference afterward, Tsarukyan had a simple message for the champ.

“He already knows his message; he's fighting me next,†Tsarukyan told reporters.

Tsarukyan is currently on a six-fight win streak at lightweight and was supposed to challenge Islam Makhachev for the title last year, but a last-minute withdrawal from the event, plus other incidents, put Tsarukyan in the doghouse with the UFC. As such, Tsarukyan felt extra pressure to deliver on Saturday to ensure his title shot, and he believes he did just that.

“Every fight is pressure for me,†Tsarukyan said. “It's not a joke because I want to be UFC champion. Every fight for me is so important. This fight is important too, especially finish and show the great performance. When I'm going to talk to UFC, the bosses are not going to say, ‘It was a boring decision, and you want to fight for the title.' I knocked him out in the first round, and they can see the crowd, people, and my ability in the cage. …

“I've been waiting a long time,†Tsarukyan added later. “I need a title fight, and today I proved it again. This is the third time I'm fighting for the No. 1 contender, and third year. After this fight, hopefully I'm fighting for the title.â€

Tsarukyan certainly believes he will be, saying he spoke with Dana White and the UFC after the win. But whether or not he'll be fighting Gaethje is another question entirely, and one that Tsarukyan isn't sure he knows the answer to because he believes Gaethje has no interest in fighting him.

“Justin Gaethje, he never tells my name,†Tsarukyan said. “He's scared. He wanted Ruffy to knock me out. It means he's trying to avoid me, and he's going to try to call out Ilia Topuria or tell [the UFC], ‘I want $15 million for Arman Tsarukyan or I'm retired.' He's going to play around bullshit game.

“But UFC — either he's going to fight me, or he's going to give the title opportunity for the young guys. We have a lot of contenders right now.â€

Tsarukyan added that if Gaethje does opt to retire instead of fighting him, he wouldn't be upset by that; he simply wants his opportunity to become champion. And when it comes to that, he's not fussy. Tsarukyan says he'll be ready whenever the UFC wants.

“I have no injuries. So I need one-week vacation, and then I can start training again,†Tsarukyan said when asked about when he'd like to fight for the title. “Probably middle of December, end of December. If there is a big card at end of December or middle December, so I'll be ready. Right now, I can't [say] ‘I want to fight in two months, I want to fight in three months.' Whatever they tell me, I'll be there.â€

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