WICHITA, Kan. – As “a huge fight nerd,” Curtis Millender would have known whomever the UFC had offered him as an opponent.
So, when they offered Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos (20-5 MMA, 6-1 UFC), whom Millender (17-3 MMA, 3-0 UFC) meets in the co-main event of Saturday’s UFC on ESPN+ 4, he was excited.
“I definitely like his style,” Millender told reporters, including MMA Junkie, in a media day ahead of the card, which streams live on ESPN from from INTRUST Bank Arena “He fought a guy that I train with, Sean Strickland, and I was like, ‘OK, if he can do that to him, let’s go.’”
By “that,” Millender means that dos Santos TKO’d Strickland after landing a beautiful spinning heel kick to his temple. That was the fifth win of dos Santos’ current UFC streak – which he added to last September, with yet another eye-popping knockout. In total, dos Santos has won three “Fight of the Night” bonuses in the UFC.
That’s certainly an impressive resume, but Millender’s isn’t too shabby either. About one year ago, he brought a six-fight winning streak into the UFC – half of them knockouts – and kept it going with wins over Thiago Alves, Max Griffin and Siyar Bahadurzada. The knockout of Alves earned him “Performance of the Night” honors.
Much like everybody else, Millender believes this is going to be a “fun one.” But he’s also confident in his ability to create his own opportunities, whether his foe’s style involves throwing “crazy stuff” or not. And, aware of the stakes of coming out on top of a co-headliner, Millender is also looking to do it emphatically.
“Just definitely stay focused on the task at hand,” Millender said. “But still go out there and put on a show, be dominant and make a statement so I can get whatever I ask for in the future.”
And, make no mistake, Millender knows what he wants to ask for.
“(My goals are definitely to) get this win, get this bonus, take the summer off, maybe, and then get two more at the end of the year,” Millender said. “Somebody like ‘Wonderboy or another fun fight, (Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson) or (Darren) Till. I’d smash them both.”
To hear from Millender, check out the video above.
For more on UFC on ESPN+ 4, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.
