UFC

Volkanovski Says Salkilld Will Smoke Saint Denis At UFC Sydney

Quillan Salkilld faces Benoît Saint Denis in the UFC Sydney main event on Feb. 7 local time, and Alexander Volkanovski says the Aussie will smoke him.

ByMike Reichlin

Alexander Volkanovski expects Quillan Salkilld to run through Benoît Saint Denis when the two lightweights headline UFC Fight Night Sydney at Afterpay Arena.

The UFC made the main event official on Oct. 27. The card takes place on Sunday, Feb. 7, 2027, in Sydney, which is Saturday, Feb. 6 in the United States, where it streams live on Paramount+.

That time difference is why the fight is being reported under both dates.

Volkanovski, fresh off his UFC 333 title defense against Movsar Evloev in Abu Dhabi, gave his pick in a video published by UFC AUSNZ.

We were talking about how stacked that division is. A win against ‘BSD’, he should be fighting your Ilia’s, Paddy’s, and all that, and then fighting for a title. How could he not?

Then he got to the prediction.

I like ‘BSD’, Quillan smokes him.

What’s at stake in Sydney

Salkilld enters 13-1 and a perfect 6-0 in the UFC. He has won 13 straight since losing his professional debut in 2021, and his last four wins have all come by first-round finish, including a stoppage of Beneil Dariush at UFC Perth and a first-round submission of Mateusz Gamrot in their August main event. Sydney will be the second headliner of his UFC career.

Saint Denis is the toughest test yet. The Frenchman is 17-4, and all 17 of his wins have come by knockout or submission. He is 9-4 in the UFC.

He arrives off a 52-second submission loss to Paddy Pimblett at UFC 329 in July, which snapped a run of four straight stoppage wins. One of those came in Sydney, when he finished Dan Hooker in the second round at UFC 325 in January.

The rankings line up with Volkanovski’s read on the stakes. In the updated UFC Meta rankings, Salkilld sits sixth at lightweight, directly behind Pimblett at No. 5, with Saint Denis seventh. Ilia Topuria sits at No. 1.

Peter Kloczko, the UFC’s senior vice president for Australia and New Zealand, pitched the pairing in the promotion’s announcement.

Quillan has been one of the breakout stars of the UFC’s lightweight division, while Benoît is one of the most dangerous and exciting finishers in the sport. Bringing this fight to Sydney will make for an unforgettable night.

Road to UFC finals added

The event marks the UFC’s first Fight Night in Sydney since 2017 and its fourth straight annual event in New South Wales. The Road to UFC Season 5 finals will run on the prelims, with UFC contracts going to the four winners:

  • Women’s strawweight: Meng Bo (29-3) vs. BoHyun Park (10-3)
  • Flyweight: Jiniushiyue (17-4) vs. Takaya Suzuki (9-1)
  • Bantamweight: Rabindra Dhant (11-1) vs. Ryo Tajima (12-3)
  • Featherweight: George Mangos (10-1) vs. Dagiisuren Chagnaadorj (12-2)

The UFC says more bouts will be announced shortly.