Three debuting fighters to watch at UFC 312

By traditional pay-per-view standards, UFC 312 is inferior to its peers. Only four ranked fighters — who all compete in the final two fights of the night — are listed on the card.

For Australian MMA fans, this event is a dream. There are not many Aussie fighters on the UFC roster, but the majority of them are competing on this card. The general star power may be lacking, but the local attraction will still likely sell out the Qudos Bank Arena.

Unsurprisingly, the UFC is using this event to introduce a handful of new talent to the mainstream market. Six fighters, three from Australia, will make their Octagon debuts on Saturday.

While some of the debuting fighters might already be household names among the local fan base, most are far from hot commodities to the general public. Of the influx of fighters looking to make a first impression, these are the three most talented to keep an eye on at UFC 312.

Quillan Salkilld

Of the debuting fighters on the card, arguably none are more exciting than 25-year-old Quillan Salkilld, who will make his inaugural walk in his home country. Salkilld, 7-1, enters the UFC as the former lightweight champion of Eternal MMA, Australia's premier regional promotion.

Primarily a grappler, Salkilld enters the UFC with 43 percent of his wins by submission. However, his striking is what stood out in his win over Gauge Young on "Dana White's Contender Series." For a young fighter with a wrestling background, Salkilld is a slick boxer with quick hands, pinpoint accuracy and above-average footwork.

Defensively, Salkilld could use some work, but at 25, the best is yet to come. He makes his debut against the 7-1 Anshul Jubli, who is coming off a viral knockout loss to Mike Breeden at UFC 294. With the right setups, Salkilld could very well hand the Indian his second straight defeat inside the distance.

Kody Steele

Few fighters have entered the UFC with as much promotion from the company before they even signed a contract as Kody Steele. Most of that has to do with his Brazilian jiu-jitsu credentials. Before committing to MMA full-time, Steele constructed a decorated submission grappling career, competing for the Zuffa-branded Submission Underground and UFC Fight Pass Invitational.

Unlike Mackenzie Dern, who entered the UFC as a multi-time BJJ world champion, Steele does not have the best grappling record. However, few athletes in the sport can match his strength of schedule. Steele has competed against a handful of the best pound-for-pound grapplers in the world, including Mason Fowler, Vagner Rocha, Jonnatas Gracie and Tye Ruotolo.

Regardless, Steele's grappling is already among the division's best. It would just be hard to tell from watching him fight. Since transitioning to MMA, Steele has become more of a knockout artist than a submission threat, winning four of his seven professional fights by KO/TKO.

Perhaps he is falling in love with his hands more than one would want to see out of someone with his background, but he has clearly advanced far enough to be seen as more than just a grappler. Steele won his fight on Dana White's Contender Series with a brutal body shot TKO. The win was actually his second attempt on the show, as his initial opponent supposedly suffered a panic attack backstage just hours before the fight.

A division like lightweight is hardly ever starving for new talent. Yet, depending on how Steele performs against Rong Zhu at UFC 312, they just might have a new player.

Aleksandre Topuria

Aleksandre Topuria is easily the least qualified debutant on the card, yet is simultaneously the most hyped prospect. As the older brother of UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria, the 29-year-old Georgian is 5-1 in his professional career while obviously training with the best talent in his region.

Much like his younger brother, Aleksandre Topuria is nothing if not confident. He enters every room with a purpose and processes every fight camp as if he already knows the outcome. Few fighters truly boast that mentality without forging it, but the few who do have typically recognized great success.

However, unlike Ilia, Aleksandre Topuria does not have the pre-UFC resume to match his social media hype. He has just one win over an opponent with a winning record and has fought just once in the past four years. For what it's worth, he recognizes this aspect of his appeal and vowed to formally introduce himself to the general fan base at UFC 312.

Of the debuting fighters on the card, Topuria faces arguably the toughest test. He faces fellow promotional newcomer Colby Thicknesse, a local Australian prospect and Alexander Volkanovski's prodigy. In his previous bout, Thicknesse defeated Marvin Malunes in the first round to claim the HEX bantamweight title.

If "El Conquistador" can perform the way he sees himself doing, the Topuria family has a strong chance of becoming one of the most successful pairs of siblings in the UFC.