Preview: UFC Fight Night 146 ‘Lewis vs. Dos Santos’

Welterweights

Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos (20-5) vs. Curtis Millender (17-3)

ODDS: Zaleski dos Santos (-115), Millender (-105)

It seems odd for it to happen in Wichita, but it is nice to see Zaleski dos Santos secure a co-main event slot and some much-needed shine. Since dropping his UFC debut in 2015, “Capoeira” has enjoyed a ton of success, rattling off six straight wins while earning a reputation as one of the most exciting fighters in a deep welterweight division. Zaleski dos Santos’ approach is fairly straightforward and based entirely around throwing power strikes. At his best, he can catch and knock out opponents like Sean Strickland in impressive fashion, but at worst, he can hold his own in an all-out war, which he did to win decisions against Lyman Good and Max Griffin. Between his winning streak and his penchant for excellent fights, it was only a matter of time before the UFC saw fit to put Zaleski dos Santos in a prominent position. Here we are, as he faces a fellow surging action fighter in Millender.

Millender was one of the more pleasant surprises of 2018. When the UFC signed him, the consensus was that he had some potential as a rangy striker but that his dependence on his athleticism and big moments may not translate. After all, Millender had somewhat washed out of Bellator MMA a few years prior. Thus far, Millender’s length has given his opponents fits. He managed to out-quick Thiago Alves before obliterating him with a knee up the middle, and he did just enough to discourage Max Griffin and Siyar Bahadurzada from getting aggressive enough to take over the fight. His encounter with Bahadurzada was one of those odd bouts in which Millender’s strengths looked great and his weaknesses looked terrible. It was impressive how he managed to dictate the terms of a striking match against a practiced kickboxer, but his defensive wrestling was absolutely awful. That will probably wind up giving Millender a clear ceiling, but for now, he is too busy kicking opponents in the head for that to matter.

Like a lot of Millender fights, this is going to depend on his ability to dictate range, and it will be interesting to see how much Zaleski dos Santos acquiesces. This could easily be a fight like Millender’s last two, where his opponent has success in moments but generally gets discouraged and fails to gain enough traction to cause “Curtious Curtis” some problems. However, Zaleski dos Santos is a madman who seems likely to press forward, even through danger, and he has proven to be decent enough at forcing a fight against the cage when he feels the rare need to slow the pace. Add in that Millender is firmly in the zone where the default assumption is that his opponent can take him down, and Zaleski dos Santos seems to have more options to win this fight and more fail-safes in case it starts going against him. His aggression may just charge him right into a knockout, but in the likelier scenario, Zaleski dos Santos wins via decision.

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