Elizeu Zaleski Dos Santos Wants Top 5 Foe Following Submission of Curtis Millender

Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos looked like a Top 5 welterweight on Saturday night and after vanquishing Curtis Millender in under three minutes, he wants nothing less than a Top 5 foe in his next outing.

Dos Santos wasted little time in taking Millender down, escaped a somewhat tight guillotine and slithered to the American’s back. From there, it was curtains for Millender, who tapped out to a rear-naked choke at the 2:35 mark of the first. It was the biggest win of the Brazilian’s career up to now and he firmly believes it’s time for a title push.

“I’m really happy with the performance,” dos Santos said after his conquest. “I trained really hard for this. I just put in the work and knew it would go like this. I’m a capoeira fighter by nature, but I’m also black belts in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and muay Thai. I’m a complete fighter. With every fight, I’m showing more of my game.

This fight,” he added, “it just happened that there was a clear advantage for me. I took my time, found my moment and just ran with it.”

While “Capoeira” likely won’t be getting a call from the UFC brass to challenge Kamaru Usman for his 170-pound crown in his next outing, dos Santos is ready to take the next step up the ladder. A winner of seven in a row in the Octagon, with his last three coming via stoppage, Dos Santos wants to prove to the MMA world that he is as legit as they come.

“I have three finishes in a row,” he stated. “Give me a Top 5 [opponent]. Show me the respect. I’ve asked for specific opponents in the past and never got them. Give me a Top 5. I don’t care who. I’ll show my skills and make my family proud.”