LFA 13 headliner Curtis Millender: Lack of finishes is why I'm not in UFC or Bellator

Curtis Millender said he belongs in the biggest MMA organizations in the world. He intends on using tonight’s LFA 13 headliner with Kevin Holland to prove it.

Millender (10-3) has already competed four times under the Bellator banner. In fact, he’s coming off a second-round TKO win over Johnny Cisneros at Bellator 170 in January, but it marked just his third stoppage in 10 career wins.

Promotions such as Bellator and UFC embrace fighters who put away opponents inside the distance at a consistent rate. Millender hasn’t done that, but he envisions tonight’s welterweight showdown with Holland (8-2), which headlines the AXS TV-televised event at Los Angeles Marriott Burbank Airport Convention Center in Burbank, Calif., as a platform for his turning point.

“I definitely feel that’s the missing thing,” Millender told AXS TV corespondent Ron Kruck ahead of LFA 13. “That’s the only reason why I’m not in the UFC or I’m not still signed to Bellator – the finishing aspect. But now that mindset is here. Now the big part is I control the cage. If I want to fight at a slow pace, we fight at a slow pace. If I want to go fast, we’re going to go fast. It’s all up to what I want to do.”

Although Millender, 29, has felt confident going into fights before and didn’t produce the results he wanted, he said the bout with Holland is a different story. After going through a training camp and preparation for the fight, Millender said he realized he’s superior to his opponent in every area.

Millender has never finished a fight by submission but said he could see an opening to end the fight in a grappling situation. Striking is where he feels he has the largest advantage, though. And while Holland has never been knocked out, “Curtious” said he could be the first.

“There’s no way he’s as clean and as technical as I am in the striking,” Millender said. “He’s real flimsy. There’s no comparison. I just feel he’s way behind in the striking. … I’ll just go out there and do what I always do: be confident, be focused and win. It’s easy. It won’t be a decision, but however I need to do itb I’m going to do it.”

For more on LFA 13, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.

LFA 13 is live on AXS TV tonight at 9 p.m. ET (8 p.m. CT). Make sure to tweet along using #LFA13. AXS TV airs new, live fights almost every Friday night in 2017. Find AXS TV on your TV right here: www.axs.tv/fights.