The first of a half-dozen fighters making their octagon debuts at UFC 312 on Saturday was Quillan Salkilld, taking on India’s Anshul Jubli in the opening fight of the event in Sydney, Australia.
Jubli had won the Road to UFC lightweight tournament in 2023, while Salkilld arrived in the promotion via Dana White’s Contender Series last year.
Salkilld was also given a spot on this week’s UFC 312 media day, perhaps showing the faith the promotion had in the newcomer. And as it turned out, that faith was not missplaced.
The fight started with Salkilld getting busy with the leg kicks, going to the inside and out. He was using his jab as a diversion and BAM! A huge right-hand folded Jubli, dropping him like a brick for the clean knockout.
Jubli would protest, and could be seen shaking his head as the result was announced, but the outcome was set.
“Dream come true. Only thing that would make it better is an extra $50,000 in the bank for the one-punch knockout,” Salkilld said during his post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier. The finish, taking all of 19 seconds, was announed as the second-fastest debut in UFC lightweight history. Not a bad start at all for Quillan Salkilld, who improved to 8-1 with the win.
Official Result: Quillan Salkilld def. Anshul Jubli by knockout (right hand), round 1, 0:19
