Curtis Millender wants 'Wonderboy' or Till with UFC Wichita win - ‘I’d smash them both’

Rising welterweight contender Curtis Millender is entering the biggest fight of his career as he takes on red-hot finisher Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos in the co-main event tomorrow night (Sat., Mar. 9, 2019) at UFC on ESPN+ 4 in Wichita, Kansas.

Millender, 31, has handily won each of his first three Octagon appearances, including a debut knockout victory over former UFC title challenger Thiago Alves. The talented striker has shown levels to his game each and every time he steps foot inside of the cage and this weekend will be his biggest opportunity to date to prove he’s ready for the big show.

Despite his first ever UFC co-main event bid, Millender seems focused to delivery his best outing yet.

“Just definitely stay focused on the task at hand,” Millender told MMAjunkie. “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.”

Millender, who has fought some of the toughest veterans outside of the top 15 that the UFC welterweight division has to offer, will be asked to end dos Santos’ current six-fight win streak. That win streak, which dates back to 2016, includes three knockouts and three Fight of the Night performances.

While Millender isn’t overlooking the dangerous Brazilian entering UFC Wichita, “Curtious” is already planning his next move at 170 pounds should he push his promotional record to 4-0 this weekend.

“(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.”

Smash them both?

Maybe. Maybe not. But one thing is for certain and that’s the fact that Millender has produced memorable action since making his UFC debut early last year. The streaking welterweight contender has a long ways to go before stepping up to fight former title challengers like Stephen Thompson and Darren Till, but another few wins in 2019 could get the former Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA) standout where he wants to be.

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Fight Night 146 fight card, starting with the ESPN+ “Prelims” undercard bouts at 5 p.m. ET, followed by the ESPN+ main card start time at 8 p.m. ET.