Billy Quarantillo ready for top-15 opponent, eyes return at Madison Square Garden

LAS VEGAS – Back on the winning track, Billy Quarantillo thinks he’s one solid test away from facing a ranked opponent.

Quarantillo (16-3 MMA, 4-1 UFC), who made appearances on both “The Ultimate Fighter” and Dana White’s Contender Series, has won nine of his past 10 and is coming off arguably his biggest win yet at UFC on ESPN 26.

The 32-year-old featherweight scored a third-round TKO win over Gabriel Benitez on Saturday and wants to continue building experience by taking on battle-tested veterans – though he does have a honeymoon planned with his new wife to tend to first.

“I think I’m meant to be in the top 15, meant to have these big, huge fights, have these crazy wars,” Quarantillo told reporters at the UFC on ESPN 26 post-fight press conference. “I can’t wait to watch the tape and kind of pick apart what we did good, what we did bad. But yeah, it’s going to be a nice honeymoon, little break from all this.”

In his post-fight interview, Quarantillo called out Charles Rosa for a “Boston vs. Buffalo rivalry” showdown later this year in what he sees as a perfect test before targeting the top 15.

“After the (Gavin) Tucker loss, I thought I was going to be fighting for a top 15 and that’s why I called out Rosa after,” Quarantillo said. “Nothing against him, I think he’s a great fighter. He has more fights than me, and those are the type of fights I want, is those veterans. ‘Moggly’ (Benitez) had 10 fights; this was my fifth fight. Charles is one of those guys, he’s had I think over 10 fights, and he’s an exciting fighter, so I think one more fight, and then I can start calling out guys in the top 15.

“I think this is the first fight I could actually start calling people out because you don’t want to be that guy where you have your debut and start calling out top guys. So whether Rosa wants to take the fight or not, I’ll fight whoever Dana (White) and the UFC thinks I’m ready for. If they want me to fight a top-15 guy, I think I’m ready.”

Quarantillo’s last four fights have all taken place without crowds at the UFC Apex, and he’s yearning to compete in front of a packed venue again – and if he could have his way, he’d love to compete on the UFC’s targeted November return in New York.

“I don’t know about the Madison Square Garden fight; that would be a dream come true,” Quarantillo said. “I got to watch my teammate fight there. It was just amazing. I love the atmosphere. I grew up in Buffalo, which is kind of far from there. It’s still New York, but that would be a dream come true to fight in Madison Square Garden.”