Curtis Millender
Curtis Marquir Millender (born December 1, 1987) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Welterweight division. A professional competitor since 2013, Millender has formerly competed in Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Bellator MMA, Professional Fighters League (PFL), and Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA). Mixed martial arts career. Early career. Millender began his professional MMA career in February 2013. During this period of his career, Millender competed exclusively for the California-based promotion, Fight Club OC. He compiled a perfect record of 7–0 in the organization, which included a three-round split decision victory over 10-6 Dominic  Waters to become the FCOC welterweight champion. Bellator MMA. Millender was expected to make his promotional debut against Michael Page at Bellator 134 on February 27, 2015. However, after a cut suffered by Page, Millender instead faced Brennan Ward at the event. Millender lost the fight via rear-naked choke submission in the first round, resulting in the first professional loss of his career. Millender next faced Fernando Gonzalez at Bellator 137 on May 15, 2015. He lost the fight via guillotine choke submission in the third round. Millender was subsequently released from the promotion following his loss to Gonzalez . Millender returned to face Steven Ciaccio at Bellator 141 on August 28, 2015. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Millender faced Johnny Cisneros at Bellator 170 on January 21, 2017. He won the fight via TKO in the first round due to strikes. Ultimate Fighting Championship. On the heel of a six fight win streak, including three straight on the regional scene under the Legacy Fighting Alliance promotion, Millender signed with the UFC in January 2018. Millender made his promotional debut against Thiago Alves on February 18, 2018 at UFC Fight Night 126. He won the fight via a  technical knockout in the second round. This win earned him the Performance of the Night bonus. Millender faced Max Griffin on July 7, 2018 at UFC 226. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Millender faced Siyar Bahadurzada on December 29, 2018 at UFC 232. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Millender faced Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos on March 9, 2019 at UFC Fight Night 146. He lost the fight via a submission in round one. Millender faced Belal Muhammad on April 13, 2019 at UFC 236. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. On November 3, 2019 it  was announced that Millender had been released from the UFC. Return to Bellator. In November 2019, Millender announced that he had signed a contract with Bellator MMA. In his return to the promotion, Millender faced Moses Murrietta at Bellator 238 on January 25, 2020. He won the fight by unanimous decision. As the last fight of his prevailing contract, Millender faced Sabah Homasi at Bellator 243 on August 7, 2020. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Professional Fighters League. Already an alternative for the season, Millender stepped in on short notice and replaced David Michaud for the whole PFL  2021 season. He faced Rory MacDonald on April 29, 2021 at PFL 2 as the start of the 2021 PFL Welterweight tournament. He lost the bout in the first round via a rear-naked choke submission. Millender faced Magomed Magomedkerimov at PFL 5 on June 17, 2021. He lost the bout via ezekiel choke submission in the first round. Millender, as a replacement for Sadibou Sy, was scheduled to face Gleison Tibau on August 13, 2021 at PFL 7. On August 12, Millender was announced to have pulled out of the bout against Tibau. XMMA. Millender faced Jared Gooden on  April 2, 2022 at XMMA 4. He lost the bout after getting dropped in the second round from a leg kick and getting finished by ground and pound. Personal life. Millender has two sons: Curtis Jr. and Carter ages eight and four. Millender is currently married to his long time girlfriend Ashley Richie now Ashley Millender. The two were married June 23, 2019. July 2020 they welcomed another baby boy Cross.