“Gamer” knows what’s up.
No. 8-ranked Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Lightweight Mateusz Gamrot welcomes red-hot Australian prospect Quillan Salkilld to the main event scene when the two headline UFC Vegas 120 this weekend (Sat., Aug. 8, 2026), inside the Meta Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
For Gamrot, this is familiar territory.
UFC Vegas 120 will mark his fifth UFC main event, and the Polish standout has been ranked in the Lightweight division for several years. Yet, despite being one of the toughest outs at 155 pounds, he still feels pretty far away from a title shot.
“The UFC is entertainment, and I understand the politics and the fights should be real wars,” Gamrot told MMAmania.com during UFC Vegas 120 media day. “I changed my style a little bit. I prepared something new. I prepared more volume in the cage. Like I said, I know the politics, and I want to fight to finish fights.”
Gamrot is a wrestler at heart. That is what has carried him throughout his 31-fight professional career and helped turn him into one of the best Lightweights in the world.
So, while he may be trying to become more entertaining, he is never going to stop being who he is.
“If I knocked people out, then for sure, I would be more popular,” Gamrot said. “The sport is changing. But bro, I trained 25 years in wrestling; I really represent this style. For some fans, this is a boring fight, but real fans who know the sport, wrestling is great and could be very entertaining. If you know the sport, you will appreciate this style.”
Gamrot had a chance to leapfrog into the Top 5 when he fought Charles Oliveira, but he came up short, getting submitted in the second round (watch highlights).
Since then, he has been pushed into a frustrating role: the ranked veteran who keeps getting matched against dangerous prospects trying to take his spot.
Three of Gamrot’s last four fights have come against opponents ranked below him or not ranked at all. Of course, he wants bigger ranked fights that would push him closer to UFC gold, but he is also not interested in sitting around and waiting.
“I understand the politics, and the dangerous prospects want to challenge guys in the rankings,” Gamrot said. “I always could say no and wait for the next opponent, but this is not my style. I love to be active and fight with everybody. I fought two guys without rankings, and I showed them the difference between me and those guys, so [Salkilld] can expect the same in this next fight.”
Gamrot may not get the respect he deserves because of his wrestling-heavy style and decision-filled UFC resume, but make no mistake: he is one of the toughest guys in the Lightweight division.
There is a reason fighters ranked above him are not exactly rushing to call him out.
So, this weekend, Gamrot gets another dangerous prospect.
And maybe a chance to prove that “Gamer” can still play UFC’s entertainment game without forgetting what got him here.
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