logo
UFC cookie monster out to back up 19-second masterclass

UFC cookie monster out to back up 19-second masterclass

The Advertiser04-06-2025
Quillan Salkilld needed just 19 seconds to taste victory in his UFC debut, now he hopes there will be another memorable ending and lots of celebratory cookies this weekend.
Salkilld announced himself as a star of the future in February when he knocked down Anshul Jubli with a vicious right in the opening seconds of their UFC 312 lightweight showdown in Sydney.
The performance earned Salkilld a $50,000 fight-of-the-night bonus, but it also left the West Australian with a problem.
How can he ever top that stunning display?
Fans are about to find out when Salkilld (8-1) takes on Yanal Ashmouz at UFC 316 in New Jersey this weekend.
"It was like a fairytale ending," Salkilld said of his 19-second debut.
"The way it ended like that, getting the performance of the night bonus in my home country, it couldn't have gone any better.
"I'm just trying to figure out how I'm going to top that, which is going to be pretty bloody hard."
Salkilld has been training intensely while giving up his favourite foods - with cookies being on top of the banned list.
"Cookies mate, that gets me," Salkilld said.
"I eat generally clean, but I've got a bit sweet tooth. I've just got to stay away from that in fight camp. For me that's depressing.
"I'm in good nick right now. Staying away from the chocolates, the cookies, the cake.
"It's been a good six weeks. I'm shredded right now, so it's worth it."
So how does he plan to celebrate if he defeats Ashmouz to make it a perfect 2-0 start to his UFC career?
"By just eating like a pig. Smoking a couple of cigars and eating all the cookies I want," he said with a laugh.
The headline act for UFC 316 will be the bout between bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili and No.1 challenger Sean O'Malley.
The co-main event will see women's bantamweight champion Julianna Pena up against two-time Olympic gold medalist Kayla Harrison.
Salkilld was born in Pinjarra, 80km south of Perth.
But the 25-year-old spent most of his childhood in the picturesque resort town of Broome, a high-profile tourist destination in the Kimberley region that is a 1600km flight north from Perth.
The emergence of Salkilld continues a factory line of UFC fighters from WA, which includes new welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena.
Quillan Salkilld needed just 19 seconds to taste victory in his UFC debut, now he hopes there will be another memorable ending and lots of celebratory cookies this weekend.
Salkilld announced himself as a star of the future in February when he knocked down Anshul Jubli with a vicious right in the opening seconds of their UFC 312 lightweight showdown in Sydney.
The performance earned Salkilld a $50,000 fight-of-the-night bonus, but it also left the West Australian with a problem.
How can he ever top that stunning display?
Fans are about to find out when Salkilld (8-1) takes on Yanal Ashmouz at UFC 316 in New Jersey this weekend.
"It was like a fairytale ending," Salkilld said of his 19-second debut.
"The way it ended like that, getting the performance of the night bonus in my home country, it couldn't have gone any better.
"I'm just trying to figure out how I'm going to top that, which is going to be pretty bloody hard."
Salkilld has been training intensely while giving up his favourite foods - with cookies being on top of the banned list.
"Cookies mate, that gets me," Salkilld said.
"I eat generally clean, but I've got a bit sweet tooth. I've just got to stay away from that in fight camp. For me that's depressing.
"I'm in good nick right now. Staying away from the chocolates, the cookies, the cake.
"It's been a good six weeks. I'm shredded right now, so it's worth it."
So how does he plan to celebrate if he defeats Ashmouz to make it a perfect 2-0 start to his UFC career?
"By just eating like a pig. Smoking a couple of cigars and eating all the cookies I want," he said with a laugh.
The headline act for UFC 316 will be the bout between bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili and No.1 challenger Sean O'Malley.
The co-main event will see women's bantamweight champion Julianna Pena up against two-time Olympic gold medalist Kayla Harrison.
Salkilld was born in Pinjarra, 80km south of Perth.
But the 25-year-old spent most of his childhood in the picturesque resort town of Broome, a high-profile tourist destination in the Kimberley region that is a 1600km flight north from Perth.
The emergence of Salkilld continues a factory line of UFC fighters from WA, which includes new welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena.
Quillan Salkilld needed just 19 seconds to taste victory in his UFC debut, now he hopes there will be another memorable ending and lots of celebratory cookies this weekend.
Salkilld announced himself as a star of the future in February when he knocked down Anshul Jubli with a vicious right in the opening seconds of their UFC 312 lightweight showdown in Sydney.
The performance earned Salkilld a $50,000 fight-of-the-night bonus, but it also left the West Australian with a problem.
How can he ever top that stunning display?
Fans are about to find out when Salkilld (8-1) takes on Yanal Ashmouz at UFC 316 in New Jersey this weekend.
"It was like a fairytale ending," Salkilld said of his 19-second debut.
"The way it ended like that, getting the performance of the night bonus in my home country, it couldn't have gone any better.
"I'm just trying to figure out how I'm going to top that, which is going to be pretty bloody hard."
Salkilld has been training intensely while giving up his favourite foods - with cookies being on top of the banned list.
"Cookies mate, that gets me," Salkilld said.
"I eat generally clean, but I've got a bit sweet tooth. I've just got to stay away from that in fight camp. For me that's depressing.
"I'm in good nick right now. Staying away from the chocolates, the cookies, the cake.
"It's been a good six weeks. I'm shredded right now, so it's worth it."
So how does he plan to celebrate if he defeats Ashmouz to make it a perfect 2-0 start to his UFC career?
"By just eating like a pig. Smoking a couple of cigars and eating all the cookies I want," he said with a laugh.
The headline act for UFC 316 will be the bout between bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili and No.1 challenger Sean O'Malley.
The co-main event will see women's bantamweight champion Julianna Pena up against two-time Olympic gold medalist Kayla Harrison.
Salkilld was born in Pinjarra, 80km south of Perth.
But the 25-year-old spent most of his childhood in the picturesque resort town of Broome, a high-profile tourist destination in the Kimberley region that is a 1600km flight north from Perth.
The emergence of Salkilld continues a factory line of UFC fighters from WA, which includes new welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

World Athletics mandates new gene test for female category eligibility
World Athletics mandates new gene test for female category eligibility

West Australian

time14 minutes ago

  • West Australian

World Athletics mandates new gene test for female category eligibility

World Athletics has announced that all athletes wishing to compete in the female category at world-ranking events must now pass a one-time genetic sex test—confirming they are biologically female—before stepping onto the global stage. The once-in-a-lifetime test for the SRY gene, which helps in determining biological sex, can be conducted via a cheek swab or blood test. The testing protocol will be overseen by member federations and the new regulations come into effect on September 1, ahead of the September 13-21 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. 'It is really important in a sport that is permanently trying to attract more women that they enter a sport believing there is no biological glass ceiling,' World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said in a statement. 'The test to confirm biological sex is a very important step in ensuring this is the case. We are saying, at elite level, for you to compete in the female category, you have to be biologically female. 'It was always very clear to me and the World Athletics Council that gender cannot trump biology. We particularly want to thank our member federations for their support and commitment in the implementation of these new regulations.' Athletics has spent years debating eligibility criteria to compete in women's events, amid questions over biological advantages for transgender athletes and those with differences of sex development (DSD). World Athletics bans transgender women who have gone through male puberty from competing in women's events, while it requires female DSD athletes whose bodies produce high testosterone levels to lower them in order to be eligible. Earlier this year, a working group found that those rules were not tight enough , with a pre-clearance test for the SRY gene being one of several recommendations the group made for revised rules. The SRY gene reveals the presence of the Y chromosome, which is an indicator of biological sex. The test was also approved by World Boxing in May when they introduced mandatory sex testing for all boxers. Earlier this month, the European Court upheld a 2023 ruling that double 800 metres Olympic champion Caster Semenya's appeal to a Swiss Federal Tribunal against regulations that barred her from competing had not been properly heard. Semenya was appealing against World Athletics regulations that female athletes with DSDs medically reduce their testosterone levels.

Why ‘dirty gold' from lane eight meant world to Australian swimming's new cult hero
Why ‘dirty gold' from lane eight meant world to Australian swimming's new cult hero

Sydney Morning Herald

time2 hours ago

  • Sydney Morning Herald

Why ‘dirty gold' from lane eight meant world to Australian swimming's new cult hero

Turner's path to the podium hasn't been straightforward. After plateauing in the pool, he stepped away from elite swimming altogether in 2021 after trying to make the Australian team for the Tokyo Olympics. He began an apprenticeship to become an electrician. Time in the pool was also replaced by camping trips, fishing and surfing with mates. However, Turner said he missed swimming and wanted to try and make an Australian team. Otherwise, he would never forgive himself. For two years, Turner had been stuck on a personal best of 1:57 in the 200m butterfly — a time that wouldn't have made it out of the heats in Singapore. At one point during that period, in December 2023, Turner finished 14th at the Queensland championships in a time of 2:05.85. But over the past six weeks, the 21-year-old slashed a remarkable three seconds off his lifetime best to eclipse Nick D'Arcy's 14-year-old national record of 1:54.46. Any swimmer or coach will tell you that's seriously impressive. 'I just dug deep over the last few months,' Turner said. 'I had no clue I would actually be here. That fire burns deep in the heart. It's why you rock up for the early mornings when you're feeling sore and shattered from the week. You just pick yourself up.' At last month's Australian trials, Turner clocked 1:54.90 to become the fastest Aussie in the event in 16 years. This week, he scraped into the final in Singapore to become the first Australian male to reach the last eight of the 200m butterfly at a world championships since 2003. He is now the only Australian to win a medal in the men's 200m butterfly in 52 years of world championship action. Moments after Turner finished his media commitments in the mixed zone out the back, journalists from around the world snapped their necks as a man wearing a yellow Australian T-shirt yelled out at the top of his lungs: 'YEAAAAAH!' It was Crowe, who proceeded to wrap Turner in a massive bear hug in a scene reminiscent of Laurie Lawrence's famous pool deck celebration after Duncan Armstrong's Olympic gold in 1988 in Seoul. Loading 'It's unbelievable' Crowe said. 'I knew he could do it because he's a great racer and got great skills. We made some tactical changes and he pulled it off. He's dropped 0.8 [seconds] in a meet. Six weeks ago, he dropped 2.1 seconds. 'He's very popular in the team because he's just a really down-to-earth guy. He says hello to everybody when he comes on pool deck. He'll talk to all the multi-class guys. Sometimes it's frustrating because I want him to get in and do his session, but he's talking to everybody on the way around. 'He's only just starting his journey.'

Why ‘dirty gold' from lane eight meant world to Australian swimming's new cult hero
Why ‘dirty gold' from lane eight meant world to Australian swimming's new cult hero

The Age

time2 hours ago

  • The Age

Why ‘dirty gold' from lane eight meant world to Australian swimming's new cult hero

Turner's path to the podium hasn't been straightforward. After plateauing in the pool, he stepped away from elite swimming altogether in 2021 after trying to make the Australian team for the Tokyo Olympics. He began an apprenticeship to become an electrician. Time in the pool was also replaced by camping trips, fishing and surfing with mates. However, Turner said he missed swimming and wanted to try and make an Australian team. Otherwise, he would never forgive himself. For two years, Turner had been stuck on a personal best of 1:57 in the 200m butterfly — a time that wouldn't have made it out of the heats in Singapore. At one point during that period, in December 2023, Turner finished 14th at the Queensland championships in a time of 2:05.85. But over the past six weeks, the 21-year-old slashed a remarkable three seconds off his lifetime best to eclipse Nick D'Arcy's 14-year-old national record of 1:54.46. Any swimmer or coach will tell you that's seriously impressive. 'I just dug deep over the last few months,' Turner said. 'I had no clue I would actually be here. That fire burns deep in the heart. It's why you rock up for the early mornings when you're feeling sore and shattered from the week. You just pick yourself up.' At last month's Australian trials, Turner clocked 1:54.90 to become the fastest Aussie in the event in 16 years. This week, he scraped into the final in Singapore to become the first Australian male to reach the last eight of the 200m butterfly at a world championships since 2003. He is now the only Australian to win a medal in the men's 200m butterfly in 52 years of world championship action. Moments after Turner finished his media commitments in the mixed zone out the back, journalists from around the world snapped their necks as a man wearing a yellow Australian T-shirt yelled out at the top of his lungs: 'YEAAAAAH!' It was Crowe, who proceeded to wrap Turner in a massive bear hug in a scene reminiscent of Laurie Lawrence's famous pool deck celebration after Duncan Armstrong's Olympic gold in 1988 in Seoul. Loading 'It's unbelievable' Crowe said. 'I knew he could do it because he's a great racer and got great skills. We made some tactical changes and he pulled it off. He's dropped 0.8 [seconds] in a meet. Six weeks ago, he dropped 2.1 seconds. 'He's very popular in the team because he's just a really down-to-earth guy. He says hello to everybody when he comes on pool deck. He'll talk to all the multi-class guys. Sometimes it's frustrating because I want him to get in and do his session, but he's talking to everybody on the way around. 'He's only just starting his journey.'

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store