Curtis Millender

Curtis Millender vs. Belal Muhammad

Round 1
Up next is a welterweight bout between Curtis Millender and Belal Muhammad. The referee is Marc Goddard. No touch of gloves and Millender immediately takes the center of the Octagon. Millender with a low kick and a left hook. Another low kick by Millender and he just misses landing a high kick. Muhammad just misses landing a straight right. Millender with a counter right hook. Another low kick by Millender. Muhammad lands Millender with a right hook to the body. Millender with a stinging jab. Millender with a left hook to the body. Muhammad starts to work off his jab but Millender moves away. He’s doing a great job of utilizing his reach advantage thus far. Muhammad moves forward and clinches Millender against the cage. Muhammad is working hard for a single leg takedown but Millender defends it well. They temporarily pause due to an eye poke on Muhammad. Time is back in and Millender lands another long jab. He stings Muhammad with a straight right. The 10-second clapper rings and Millender lands a hard body kick just before the end of the round.

Sherdog Scores
Adam Martin scores the round: 10-9 Millender
Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Muhammad
Cole Shelton scores the round: 10-9 Muhammad

Round 2
Round two begins. Muhammad pushes forward and clinches Millender against the fence. He lands a hard elbow and they break. Muhammad pushes forward with a left hook. Muhammad with a kick to the body. Millender lands a left hook. Millender with a low kick. Muhammad pushes forward and completes a double leg takedown. Muhammad lands in half guard and has two minutes to work. He’s landing some hard punches to the face of Millender. Muhammad with some shoulder shots. Millender looks completely lost on his back and the clock continues to run down. Muhammad lands some hard elbows to the face of Millender and the round is over.

Sherdog Scores
Adam Martin scores the round: 10-9 Muhammad
Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Muhammad
Cole Shelton scores the round: 10-9 Muhammad

Round 3
Round three begins. Millender lands a hard low kick. Muhammad shoots for a double leg but Millender stuffs it and lands a hard knee on the exit. Muhammad moves forward and lands a right hook. Muhammad with a straight right and he changes levels and lands a double leg takedown. Muhammad moves into half guard and continues to pepper Millender with ground and pound. Muhammad moves into full mount. He continues to land hard punches to the face of Millender, who turns his back in desperation. Muhammad has back mount now with his hooks in and is looking for a rear-naked choke. Millender escapes the choke attempt but Muhammad continues to rain down punches and the round and fight are over.

Sherdog Scores
Adam Martin scores the round: 10-8 Muhammad (29-27 Muhammad)
Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-8 Muhammad (30-26 Muhammad)
Cole Shelton scores the round: 10-9 Muhammad (30-27 Muhammad)

The Official Result
Belal Muhammad def. Curtis Millender via Unanimous Decision (29-27, 29-27, 30-26)

Max Griffin vs. Curtis Millender

Round 1
Millender catches Griffin stepping inside and backs him off with a quick knee up the center. The big Californian lands a few heavy leg kicks, including one about 90 seconds in that puts Griffin on his knees momentarily. Two minutes in, Griffin gets inside and hits a quick takedown, putting Millender flat on his back at the base of the fence. Griffin keeps things tight as he works from half guard, chest-to-chest with Millender as he works to advance. Millender isn't doing much to escape, mostly wrapping up Griffin's arms to prevent ground-and-pound. Griffin postures up to land a couple punches, now an elbow, before Millender hugs him again. Griffin goes knee-on-belly with 20 seconds left and socks Millender with a few final punches before the horn.

Sherdog Scores
Tristen Critchfield scores the round 10-9 Griffin
Brian Knapp scores the round 10-9 Griffin
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Griffin

Round 2
Millender swings some long punches in Griffin's direction at the start of round two, trying to keep the shorter man on the outside and away from his legs. Griffin gets backed up to the fence and has to scurry away as Millender comes flying at him with a sailing knee. Griffin rocks the head of Millender with an overhand right, tries to shoot inside and gets a knee to the body from Millender. Millender catches Griffin leaning inside to punch and lands a right high kick to the face. Griffin continues to come forward as they hit the midway point of the round, shoots for a takedown and has to bail as Millender threatens to catch him in a headlock. Millender slowly walks down Griffin from the center of the cage. Griffin tries to shoot, gets stuffed and kneed in the gut, then socked with a short punch before he can backpedal away. Millender finishes the round with a takedown and a few hammerfists in the final 20 seconds.

Sherdog Scores
Tristen Critchfield scores the round 10-9 Millender
Brian Knapp scores the round 10-9 Millender
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Millender

Round 3
Millender continues to dictate the pace and direction of the bout as he stakes out the center of the cage early in the final frame. Griffin tries to circle and angle his way inside, but Millender's rangy punches and kicks put him in the danger zone with each attempt. Two minutes in, Griffin gets hold of Millender and tries a takedown at the fence. Millender shows better defense this time, widening his base against the fence and even hitting Griffin with a knee as he fights off the shot. The welterweights separate with just about two minutes remaining. Millender touches Griffin with a jab, corners him near the fence and feeds him a sizzling right hand. Griffin tries to escape, but Millender walks him down and knees him hard, forcing Griffin to bail out again as the fight draws to a close.

Sherdog Scores
Tristen Critchfield scores the round 10-9 Millender (29-28 Millender)
Brian Knapp scores the round 10-9 Millender (29-28 Millender)
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Millender (29-28 Millender)

The Official Result
Curtis Millender def. Max Griffin via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) R3 5:00