Perth’s UFC rising star Quillan Salkilld called out No.7 lightweight Mateusz Gamrot after acing the biggest test of his young career.

Salkilld (12-1) is set to enter the lightweight top-15 after a first-round TKO of veteran Beneil Dariush (23-8-1) in Saturday’s co-main event at RAC Arena.

The 26-year-old has shot into stardom since earning a contract in the UFC back in September of 2024, claiming five consecutive victories with four finishes and $250,000 worth of bonuses.

It has Salkilld firmly on the path to becoming the second-ever champion out of Perth, but first he has to make his way further up the rankings, and he wants to start with dangerous Polish grappler Gamrot (26-4).

“Mainly the grappling, the scrambles,” Salkilld said when asked why he called out Gamrot.

“I watched the Dariush versus Gamrot fight many times leading into this fight.

“Gamrot just had a win recently, a good one, and he’s ranked seven, so I’m thinking that’s a good next step before getting into the top five.”

Salkilld has already fought twice this year, with his victory against Dariush coming only two months after he submitted fellow Australian Jamie Mullarkey in Sydney.

However, Salkilld said he wanted at least one more fight before the end of 2026 as he looked to shoot into the top five.

“Realistically, probably no more than two more, but at the very least one more,” he said.

“I’ve come out with no injuries, so I can have a little bit of downtime, (then) back in the gym and working on the next thing.”

Salkilld wasn’t the only Perth athlete to get his hand raised, with former flyweight title contender Steve Erceg (14-4) beating Tim Elliott (22-14-1) by unanimous decision.

It was the ultimate redemption for Erceg, who lost his only other UFC fight in front of his home fans when he was knocked out by New Zealander Kai Kara-France in August 2024.

The man known as “Astroboy” said, despite the impressive win, he had yet to think about when his next championship opportunity would arise.

“I have no plans as far as how to get to a title or anything like that. That’s not even in my head,” Erceg said.

“All I want is fights that are going to help me progress and become better than I was today.

“And then at some point I will be in a spot where other people will see that ‘We want to see him fight for a title again’, but I’m not thinking about it right now.”

Unfortunately for the hometown fans, there wasn’t a trifecta of Perth wins on the card, with former welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena (18-4) being stopped by contender Carlos Prates (24-7) in the third round of the main event.

It was the second consecutive loss for Della Maddalena after he lost his title to Islam Makhachev in November last year, and it will have him slide down the rankings after heading into the bout at No.1.