Curtis Millender scored a beautiful head-kick knockout to close out LFA 30 on Jan. 12. The next day, he found out he was in the UFC.

“I just had to keep it on the hush for a couple of days,” Millender told MMAjunkie Radio. “Which was probably one of the hardest things you could do.”

The meeting with Nick Barnes was Millender’s third straight LFA headliner. It was also the second consecutive knockout in a winning streak that sits at six. So Millender wasn’t entirely off base in thinking, even before scoring a “Knockout of the Month” candidate, that the UFC call should have arrived already.

But that didn’t stop him from celebrating when it finally did.

“I cried like a baby,” Millender said. “I cried every time I told somebody. Every time I told somebody, especially like sponsors that have been (with me) from the beginning, like has seen the ups and downs these past five years. Every time I told them, I just couldn’t help it.

“I scared my kids. I was actually with my kids when my coach called me. I’m screaming and yelling in excitement and scared them to death. Really, the first people I told were my boys”

Of course, Millender is well within his right to celebrate. But, with that bit done, the welterweight is now focused on the piece of advice that he got from a friend and now-fellow UFC fighter Bobby Green.

“He told me, ‘Now you’re in, but that’s not the goal,” Millender said. “The goal is to stay in.”

Thankfully for 30-year-old Millender, who’s now scheduled to meet former 170-pound title challenger Thiago Alves (22-11 MMA, 14-8 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 126, Millender (14-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC) thinks he’s found just the opponent to help him do that.

“I don’t want to be like a lot of the guys that go two and out, lose every fight on their contract and end up right back on the local circuit,” Millender said. “I already know how that feels, because I went through that with Bellator (Millander went 2-2 with the promotion). I’m just not going to let that happen again.

“I beat up Thiago, and I’m in for a long time.”

Of course, that will mean not only scoring big in his UFC debut, but getting past another guy who’s interested in winning, as well.

Alves may not be living his best moment in the octagon, having gone 2-2 in his past four outings – with a few bout cancellations in between. Still, he’s a battle-tested veteran, most recently with a unanimous-decision win over Patrick Cote, who can never be counted out.

Having started his pro MMA run in 2013, Millender could have feasibly been an admirer of “Pitbull” Alves – who, by then, was years removed from a failed title bid opposite former longtime welterweight kingpin Georges St-Pierre at UFC 100 in July 2009.

But that’s only “kind of” the case.

“I remember him and ‘GSP’ at UFC 100,” Millender said. “But I also remember the fight with him and Carlos Condit, which was probably my favorite Thiago Alves fight, because I’m a huge Carlos Condit fan. Now I know exactly what to do against him.”

Allow him to elaborate on what that is.

Millender, it turns out, has already pictured fighting basically anyone who’s currently in the 170-pound division. Alves happens to fit the bill. So, based on that mental film, how does that one end?

“I’ve been getting a lot of criticism,” Millender said. “One guy told me that head-kicks is no technique; it’s all luck. So I’m going to call a lead head-kick knockout.”

To hear from Millender, check out the video above.

And for more on UFC Fight Night 126, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

MMAjunkie Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at 1 p.m. ET (10 a.m. PT) live from Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. The show is hosted by “Gorgeous” George Garcia, Brian “Goze” Garcia and Dan Tom. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.