It’s something Salkilld values in following the likes of Robert Whittaker, Alexander Volkanovski and Jack Della Maddalena. Coming off the win over Yanal Ashmouz at UFC 316 that’s very high praise.

“They put us on the map. When I see another guy like me coming up the ranks their success puts more eyes on me,” Salkilld told reporters including Cageside Press at his post-fight scrum.

“Everyone obviously gets to build off that. Without them I wouldn’t be getting as much recognitions as I would be. Everyone knows now the talent pool in Australia, specially now in Perth, is becoming next level. A force to be dealt with.”

Up next for Salkilld is what he hopes is a home game in Perth later this year. With the UFC making Australia a yearly destination it’s become a stage for upcoming Australian talent.

“Heard rumors that it’s September. That gives me good time, I’m not too banged up after this one, a few weeks to kind of heal my little bumps and bruises,” he said.

“Get straight back in there and get into prep.”

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Quillan Salkilld above.

The post Quillan Salkilld Hoping For Spot On Upcoming Perth Card appeared first on Cageside Press.

Salkilld (8-1) earned a UFC contract off his win at Dana White’s Contender Series in 2024. His UFC debut at UFC 312 has raised expectations on the 25-year-old Aussie as he gets back to action in New Jersey.

Ashmouz (8-1) has been in the UFC since 2023 when he made his debut with a TKO victory over Sam Patterson at UFC 286. 2-1 in his UFC run so far his lone loss came at the hands of Chris Duncan, but he bounced back with a win over Trevor Peek a year later.

With the UFC lightweight division seeing some turnover with stars retiring or changing divisions the two fighters had a legitimate shot to make some noise.

Round 1 Ashmouz came out on fire aggressive and throwing heavy strikes. He looked to be trying to overpower and overwhelm Salkilld. Salkilld fired back on him, but he got taken down. A quick pop back to his feet, and then scored his own takedown.

Ashmouz did get back to his feet, but Salkilld showed improved grappling and took him back down. After a couple more minutes of grappling they separated and got back to throwing hands.

Salkilld continued to wrestle with Ashmouz shooting for takedowns and then lifting and dumping Ashmouz to the canvas. Salkilld dominated positions for the rest of the round. Ashmouz was able to land some heavy shots at the very end of the round.

Round 2 Ashmouz came out aggressive looking to leave dents on Salkilld’s face. He did land a clean and heavy calf kick that got Salkilld’s attention. A quick takedown gave the Australian the momentum right back.

Salkilld worked ground and pound in every position on the ground. Even when his opponent tried to stand up he got right back to his takedowns right away and scored them.

Round ended with Ashmouz finally stopping a takedown, but not being able to do anything with the headlock position. Salkilld took him to the fence and the round ended.

Round 3 Ashmouz came out aggressive knowing he needed the finish. Big shots landed, but not enough. Until a big right hand seemingly put Salkilld on skates. The Australian shot in for a takedown and got it to slow the action for a moment.

Clearly not hurt he went back to dominate Ashmouz in the grappling department. Yet Ashmouz came out firing big shots for the rest of the round, possibly hurting Salkilld at one point, but the grappling from the Australian helped him survive to the bell.

Another victory for Australia’s Quillan Salkilld.

Official Result: Quillan Salkilld def. Yanal Ashmouz via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28×2)

The post Quillan Salkilld Beats Ashmouz At His Own Game, Takes Decision appeared first on Cageside Press.

Sean Brady

Two years ago, welterweight Sean Brady was undefeated, but ran into Belal Muhammad at the wrong time. Brady became the rare finish on Muhammad’s record, but that loss has aged better than most thanks to Muhammad going on to become champ earlier this year.

Brady’s other obstacle has been activity, having fought just once in each of the last three years. Let’s hope he can correct that moving forward, because to stake a claim in the welterweight division, you need to be present. Or be Colby Covington.

Brady entered UFC Vegas 97 ranked #8 in the weight class, and having defeated #6 Burns, should jump up at least a few spots. He’ll want to fight up the rankings, but that may prove difficult. However, there are a couple of options in former champs Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman. In particular, Usman is ranked #2 in the division, but is coming off three straight defeats. It’s another step up for Brady, but with Usman having been out for the better part of a year, it seems like a good time to catch him. Either Brady lands in contention, or Usman returns to the mix.

Brady’s next fight: Kamaru Usman

Natalia Silva

Brazilian Natalia Silva announced her arrival as a real player at women’s flyweight by defeating Jessica Andrade in the UFC Vegas 97 co-main event. Silva has yet to taste defeat under the UFC banner, and was ranked #8 to start the night. With Andrade at #6, an identical situation to Brady-Burns plays out. Silva will want to fight up, but the options are limited as Rose Namajunas is booked against Erin Blanchfield in November, while Valentina Shevchenko faces champ Alex Grasso next weekend. Maycee Barber has been facing some serious health issues, which leaves Manon Fiorot and Katlyn Cerminara.

Of the two, however, there’s really only one option. Fiorot is serving as backup for Grasso vs. Shevchenko 3, and probably has the next title shot locked up. With that in mind, #7-ranked Cerminara might be the best option, even if Silva is likely to inch past her in the rankings when they update.

Silva’s next fight: Katlyn Cerminara

Steve Garcia

Don’t you dare mess with the Mean Machine, with apologies to Sugar Ray (the band, not boxer). Actually, Steve “Mean Machine” Garcia might want to walk out to that track for the sheer nostalgia, but regardless, he was very much a wrecking machine as a short-notice replacement opposite Kyle Nelson at UFC Vegas 97.

That’s the kind of opportunity that doesn’t come along often, but having fought twice in basically two months, Garcia is likely to take some time off. Here’s where we can have some real fun, however. Nelson was supposed to fight Calvin Katter, ranked #8 at featherweight. Why not give Garcia that fight when both are ready? Garcia has won five straight bouts and finished all five of them. Three of those wins saw him earn Performance of the Night bonuses.

Garcia’s next fight: Calvin Kattar

Cody Durden

Fortunes certainly have changed for flyweight Cody Durden. Just over two years ago, he was steamrolled by Muhammad Mokaev at UFC London, in March 2022. He then embarked on a four fight win streak, dropped two straight, then returned to the win column with a slick, bonus-winning choke of Matt Schnell, who retired following the fight.

Durden was ranked #15, Schnell #11 to start the night. Since Schnell will be exiting the rankings, a few names will be moving up. Durden’s best bet, assuming he’s ready to return from injury, would be former title challenger and TUF winner Tim Elliott. That just feels like a fun fight all around.

Durden’s next fight: Tim Elliott

Yanal Ashmouz

Israel’s Yanal Ashmouz improved to 2-1 in the UFC care of a win over Trevor Peek on Saturday. He’s now going into a key fight, one that either puts him at .500 with a loss, or 3-1 and sitting pretty after his first four fights. Who that bout comes about is the question, and Ashmouz is still way down the lightweight division priority list. He’s also still under 10 fights as a pro, something to factor in when matchmaking.

Viacheslav Borshchev is 8-4-1 as a pro, and Slava Claus is coming off a win. He’s 3-3-1 in the promotion, and like Ashmouz had less than 10 fights when he arrived via the Contender Series a few years back. That match-up works on a number of levels.

Ashmouz’s next fight: Viacheslav Borshchev

The post What’s Next: UFC Vegas 97 Winners appeared first on Cageside Press.

Peek (9-2) began his UFC career following his win at Contender Series with a first round knockout of Erick Gonzalez in February 2023. Since then he’s gone 1-2 with losses to Chepe Mariscal and Charlie Campbell, but scoring a win over Mohammad Yahya at UFC 294.

Ashmouz (7-1) came out on fire with an impressive win over Sam Patterson via first round TKO at UFC 298, but then lost to Chris Duncan just 4 months later. Coming off a 13-month layoff he hoped to get back to winning against Peek.

Trevor Peek spent the first half of round number one trying to be calculated and calmer than the Peek the world is used to. Peek used his leg kicks well for the most part and landed a few good body shots. Ashmouz was able to capitalize and take Peek down off a punch peek loaded up on. Peek was able to get up but Ashmouz was able to control the clinch for the most part the rest of the round.

Heading into the second round it seemed Ashmouz was waiting for Peek to throw so he could counter with a punch or takedown. Peek started the first half of the round really good hurting Ashmouz a couple of times with stinging right hands. Peek started to work the body to open up the shots to the head but Ashmouz was able to capitalize on his wrestling again. Peek tried to use some of his offesnive wrestling in the second round but Ashmouz was able to defend and put Peek back on the ground slamming him for a 7th takedown to end the second round.

Peek was having a hard time finding Ashmouz there to be hit but he wasn’t going to go down without fight. In the third and final round Peek stepped on the gas and seemed to sting Ashmouz with a few more right hands and an uppercut. However it didn’t take long for Ashmouz to go back to the well with is wrestling that worked majority of this fight. Peek was not an easy task to keep down as he got out of the clinch and got into a brawling exchange with Ashmouz. Ashmouz was able to get Peek back up against the cage to end the round with another takedown.

The Red Fox had a very impressive performance against Trevor Peek who is not exactly the easiest fight to take the way he fights. Ashmouz stated after his dominant 30-27 victory “We know he’s an agressive guy so we just worked on timing the takedowns that was the plan”. Trevor Peek is now on a two fight skid following this loss and will need to get a huge win next time out.

Result: Yanal Ashmouz def. Trevor Peel via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28×2)

The post Yanal Ashmouz Grinds His Way To Decision Win appeared first on Cageside Press.

News of the bout was first broken by Robert Tellez (@Bert_MMA on X formerly known as Twitter). It’s a lightweight bout that is scheduled three, five-minute rounds on the preliminaries of the UFC APEX card in Las Vegas.

Peek also confirmed the booking on social media.

Trevor Peek (9-2) has been both exciting and violent for the entirety of his short UFC career to date. The 2022 Contender Series Alum has gone 2-2 with the promotion but was able to secure a performance bonus in his debut with the company, by stopping Erick Gonzalez. While he has been entertaining, with his unorthodox striking, Trevor has struggled to find the finish and the win column in the bouts since. Peek was last in action a couple of months ago when he lost a unanimous decision to Charlie Campbell.

Yanal Ashmouz (7-1) has just a pair of bouts for the UFC. A veteran of both the PFL and CFFC promotions, Yanal made his UFC debut with a vicious first round KO over Sam Patterson in early 2023. Yanal’s most recent fight was last July when he lost a unanimous decision at the hands of Chris Duncan. It was a striking heavy fight which is a common theme for the fighter, as most of Yanal’s wins are by KO/TKO.

The card on the September 7 is filling out nicely, with the main event being Gilbert Burns vs. Sean Brady. With the addition of Trevor Peek vs. Yanal Ashmouz to its undercard, UFC Vegas 97 is now up to 10 fights with a four-fight main card at the writing of this article. Here is the line up so far:

• Gilbert Burns vs. Sean Brady
• Calivn Kattar vs. Kyle Nelson
• Jessica Andrade vs. Natalia Silva
• Matt Schnell vs. Alessandro Costa
• Andre Lima vs. Felipe dos Santos
• Jaqueline Amorim vs. Vanessa Demopoulos
• Isaac Dulgarian vs. Brendon Marlotte
• Andre Petroski vs. Dylan Budka
• Gabrial Santos vs. Yizha
• Trevor Peek vs. Yanal Ashmouz

The post Trevor Peek Will Fight Yanal Ashmouz in September at UFC APEX appeared first on Cageside Press.

“Being in there with those guys I just know I’m meant to be in there with the top 10 guys. I used to make wishes saying I was in the UFC, but my new wish is to get that top 15,” Duncan told reporters including Cageside Press at his post-fight scrum on Saturday.

“I walked in that door at ATT, I’ve said it numerous times, Dan Lambert welcome me with open arms and treated me like Dustin Poirier or Jorge Masvidal. I can’t thank those guys enough. I’m just a random guy from the countryside in Scotland, and they welcome me to that gym like I was one of their own. Shoutout to those guys.”

With the win over Yanal Ashmouz secured Duncan now looks ahead to a couple of matchups he’d like on his way into the top 15 of the lightweight division.

“Trevor Peek or Jordan Leavitt. One of those two. Good fight. Trevor comes to fight, and Jordan Leavitt’s a great Jiu Jitsu practitioner,” he said.

“Nothing against them. Just think they’re great opponents, and it’d be fun to get in there with them.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Chris Duncan above.

The post Chris Duncan Looking For Matchups With Peek Or Leavitt Following London Win appeared first on Cageside Press.

Lightweights Duncan and Ashmouz both notched wins in their UFC debuts at UFC 286, the last UFC event in London. The Scot, Duncan, won a split decision over Omar Morales following his impressive come-from-behind knockout on DWCS while Ashmouz stopped Sam Patterson with strikes in just over a minute. These two were anticipating a hard fought war when they stepped into the cage at the O2 Arena in London on Saturday, but Chris Duncan won that war and made it look almost easy on the way there.

Ashmouz opened with a spinning wheel kick that missed but drew a loud ‘oooh’ from the crowd. Duncan primarily went forward early on and looked to land big round kicks to the head and legs. At times they fell into the pocket and exchanged big blows, with Duncan landing a particularly hard uppercut two minutes in. Duncan’s round kicks continued; they did not land cleanly but had to be affecting the arms of Ashmouz negatively. The output of Ashmouz was relatively low; he waited a lot, got pressed to the fence, and Duncan found shots through the guard. Nothing seminal landed, but the Scotsman did consistent attritive damage. Ashmouz shot for a takedown off of an overhand with one minute left in the round but Duncan stuffed it easily and landed big shots after they broke. Ashmouz landed a big straight right after that, however, that made Duncan back up momentarily. The end of the round saw Ashmouz try a body kick which Duncan caught and used to take down the Israeli right before the bell.

The second round presented a similar dynamic to the first. Duncan pressed Ashmouz back early and landed a flying knee and a leg kick that buckled Yanal’s legs. The knees from Duncan became a constant feature when he got Ashmouz against the fence, stepping in with them as Yanal shelled up. The left hand of Ashmouz was rarely in action, perhaps proving the high kicks of Duncan had injured it, although Chris threw far fewer head kicks in round two. A wheel kick from Yanal midway through the round landed partially on the guard and partially on the head of Duncan, but the steel chin of the Scotsman let him walk through it. The pressure of Duncan really ramped up in the middle round; Ashmouz had some moments going forward in the first stanza but had almost none in the second. Ashmouz slipped and fell to the mat off a flying knee to close the round.

Ashmouz told his corner he could not even make a fist before the final round started, proving his arm was injured. Duncan really began to pour the volume on when the round started, rocking Ashmouz early on and not letting up after that. Yanal was on a constant retreat for about a minute until he bit down on his mouthpiece and charged forward with wild overhands, though they missed and Duncan resumed his assault afterwards. With two minutes left in the round Duncan landed a big knee to the head but Ashmouz’s chin stayed strong, somehow he kept his footing through that and the constant assault from Chris Duncan. After that though he really looked worn out. Duncan switched it up and landed a takedown with one minute left in the fight. Yanal got back to his feet but Duncan held the rear body-lock for thirty seconds until he decided to break and hit the Israeli with more strikes. He kept the pressure and pace going until the final bell, sealing a clear win for the Scotsman.

Chris Duncan looked like a completely different fighter, revamped fully since he got hurt badly several times and had to come back to win his UFC contract on Dana White’s Contender Series. His striking was cleaner and more purposeful than ever, it left no room for doubt as to the decision. All three judges agreed and gave Duncan the decision, two of them giving him all three rounds while one somehow found a round for Ashmouz.

Official Result: Chris Duncan def. Yanal Ashmouz by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

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