The UFC has announced the first three bouts for its pay-per-view return to Sydney in February.
The UFC 312 fight card ball is officially rolling as the UFC on Monday announced the first three bouts for its pay-per-view return to Sydney, Australia on Feb. 8.
Australia’s [autotag]Jimmy Crute[/autotag] returns to the octagon for the first time since July 2023 to take on [autotag]Marcin Prachnio[/autotag] at light heavyweight. Additionally, undefeated flyweight prospect Rei Tsuruya meets Stewart Nicoll, and [autotag]Quillan Salkilld[/autotag] fights [autotag] Anshul Jubli[/autotag] at lightweight.
UFC 312 is scheduled to go down at Qudos Bank Arena. The event marks the second of three pay-per-views as part of a deal between the promotion and New South Wales Government in May 2023 to bring three premium events to Sydney between 2023 and 2027.
The first event of that deal was UFC 293 in September 2023. That card was headlined by Sean Strickland’s title fight upset over then-champion Israel Adesanya. The card was the first in Sydney since 2017.
Quillan Salkilld got a taste of the “levels to this game” saying Tuesday, but that might do him good in the UFC.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Quillan Salkilld[/autotag] got a taste of the “levels to this game” saying Tuesday, but that might do him good in the UFC.
Australia’s Salkilld opened up the card at Dana White’s Contender Series 70 with a lightweight decision win over Gauge Young. Afterward, he said Young tested him to the point he hadn’t experienced before, and he learned something new about himself.
“He hit me with some good shots,” Salkilld told media members, including MMA Junkie, at a post-fight news conference. “This is the first time I’ve actually been hit like that in an MMA fight. Usually, I get through pretty unscathed. It was actually a really great test for me and I actually quite enjoyed getting into a bit of a slugfest, bit of a back-and-forth action. It was actually quite fun.”
Watch Salkilld’s full post-fight interview in the video above.
MMA Junkie fight analyst Dan Tom takes a closer look at the performances of the five winners from Dana White’s Contender Series 70.
Week 4 of Dana White’s Contender Series (2024) took place on Tuesday in Las Vegas, and we’re grading the winners from the five-fight card, which streamed on ESPN+ from the UFC Apex.
With a simple but digestible format that has had the MMA fanbase responding, this series has shown to have legs in multiple ways while serving as a crockpot for contenders the UFC matchmakers can use to fill their roster for future events. With that trend in mind, I once again will be taking a look at the winning fighters, regardless of whether or not they won a UFC contract, and grading their performances in regard to their probability of returning to a UFC stage.
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Quillan Salkilld
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – SEPTEMBER 03: (R-L) Quillan Salkilld of Australia punches Gauge Young in a lightweight fight during Dana White’s Contender Series season eight, week four at UFC APEX on September 3, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
Summary: Setting the tone for the night was a UFC-level dogfight between [autotag]Quillan Salkilld[/autotag] and Guage Young.
Considering that Young was on my : prospect to watch list for 2024, I feel obligated to give Salkilld a high grading despite the Aussie technically being favored to win.
Although Young found a solid rally point in Round 2, Salkilld’s length and offensive bursts appeared to take the lead in the proverbial dance, allowing him to hold the initiative for large parts of the fight.
I think that Salkilld’s size will certainly help him at 155 pounds (particularly when blanketing opponents from topside), but the native of Western Australia showed some solid body punches and quick kicks off shifts that stood out on the feet.
White signing the enthusiastic Australian came as little surprise given how impressed the UFC president appeared to be with both men post-fight. Young should still get some booking consideration down the road, while I see Salkilld being paired up with someone like Anshul Jubli on the next international card
Yuneisy Duben
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – SEPTEMBER 03: (R-L) Yuneisy Duben of Venezuela punches Shannon Clark of Canada in a flyweight fight during Dana White’s Contender Series season eight, week four at UFC APEX on September 3, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
Summary: Between the emphatic knockout and being the biggest underdog to come through in Contender Series history, I had a hard time denying [autotag]Yuneisy Duben[/autotag] anything but an A for her stunning stoppage of Shannon Clark.
Despite the fight being short and sweet, Duben was already checking the aggression of Clark with solid counter hooks from both stances.
Clark failed to properly respect the power coming back her way and was caught with a haymaker of a right hand by Duben that came off of a knee-tap fake.
I like that Dana White acknowledged the lack of overall information we got from such a short fight, but don’t disagree with him signing the Venezuelan fighter who is training out of Peru.
Considering Duben’s lack of experience, don’t be surprised to see her paired up with someone like Carli Judice for her first official UFC assignment.
Austin Bashi
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – SEPTEMBER 03: (R-L) Austin Bashi secures a rear choke submission against Dorian Ramos in a featherweight fight during Dana White’s Contender Series season eight, week four at UFC APEX on September 3, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
Summary: Although [autotag]Austin Bashi[/autotag] did what was expected given both his hype and the short-notice nature of his opposition, I can’t help but give this kid an A for the skills he had on display.
One of my prospects to watch for 2024, I was already well aware of Bashi’s wrestling and back-taking ability.
In this fight, Bashi showed improved striking while things were on the feet, displaying everything from solid jab triggers to healthy change-ups in his shot selection. Insane athleticism is also a huge key for Bashi’s success, which – coupled with his wrestling ability – makes me less reluctant than I usually would be with his stated intentions of permanently fighting up at featherweight from here on out.
Dorian Ramos will probably get booking consideration down the road for taking this fight on 5 days’ notice, while Bashi will likely be paired up with someone like Jeka Saragih or Manolo Zecchini before year’s end.
Djorden Santos
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – SEPTEMBER 03: (L-R) Djorden Santos of Brazil and Will Currie of England trade punches in a middleweight fight during Dana White’s Contender Series season eight, week four at UFC APEX on September 3, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
Summary: I initially leaned toward giving [autotag]Djorden Santos[/autotag] a B- for coming through as north of a 3-1 underdog opposite Will Currie, but had to bump the Brazilian down a notch after obliging the Englishman in the grappling department despite hurting him multiple time on the feet.
In Santos’ defense, he does have some serviceable submission grappling in his back pocket, but he already seemed to figure out the dynamic of this matchup on the feet before reverting to wrestling a rocked foe – which is a big no-no for myself and many.
Unfortunately for both parties, Currie proved to be surprisingly durable to both the body and the head, dragging out yet another pace-killing fight above 170 pounds (a trend that’s sadly been even more prevalent in this season of the Contender Series).
I’m not sure how Currie got installed as that large of a favorite without having a semblance of a boxing game, but the English fighter and his team should know what needs to be improved upon going forward.
As for Santos, I’m not surprised to see him signed given the obvious cost-effective recruitment that’s at play with this program. Hopefully, the matchmakers book him in a more action-friendly fight opposite the likes of someone like Zac Reese for his first octagon assignment.
Seok Hyun Ko
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – SEPTEMBER 03: (R-L) Seokhyeon Ko of South Korea punches Igor Cavalcanti of Brazil in a welterweight fight during Dana White’s Contender Series season eight, week four at UFC APEX on September 3, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
Summary: Closing the show with another upset is Korea’s [autotag]Seok Hyun Ko[/autotag], who earns the B- that Santos nearly received in the previous section for his win over the heavily favored Igor Cavalcanti.
With Cavalanti being the more ‘athletic looking’ fighter who had the height and reach advantage, MMA gamblers fell into their usual trap of backing contextless stats in lieu of actual evidence (as footage on the Brazilian was hard to come by). But as fighters who are hyped up for first-round finishes tend to do, Cavalcanti began to quickly fade after five minutes or so of action.
Ko, on the other hand, demonstrated solid and patient southpaw pressure, showing slick head movement and counters to boot. Akin to Santos in the fight before, Ko also elected to grapple his opposition – though I’d argue it made much more sense given the size and style dynamics at play.
I’m not sure why the UFC brass keeps blindly putting their beloved big men atop every card when all the good fights and finishes are happening in the lighter-weight classes, but I was happy to see Ko become the first Korean fighter to be signed on the Contender Series. Even though I wouldn’t be shocked to see Ko booked against someone like Nikolay Verentennikov on the next international card, I’d love to see him paired up with Billy Goff for a guaranteed action fight.
