Kyle Daukaus

Kyle Alexander Daukaus (born February 27, 1993) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Middleweight division of Cage Fury Fighting Championships, where he is the Cage Fury FC Middleweight Champion. He previously competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is the younger brother of former UFC fighter Chris Daukaus.

Background
Daukaus was raised in Northeast Philadelphia in the Tacony neighborhood, where he still lives and trains. When he was younger, Daukaus and his older brother Chris Daukaus would watch UFC fights together and then grapple with each other in their basement. Eventually, the brothers entered a grappling tournament, where both would finish second, despite having minimal formal training. The Daukaus brothers decided to take up MMA soon after, and both are now fighters in the UFC. After high school, Kyle weighed approximately 260 pounds, and his MMA coach suggested that he needed to take heavyweight bouts. Kyle would have a back-and-forth amateur fighting career, going 5–5 in his bouts. He would eventually drop down from 205 pounds to fight at 185 pounds, where he currently competes in the middleweight division.

Early career
Making his MMA debut at AFL 53, he faced Dino Juklo, submitting him via rear-naked choke in the first round. Daukaus would also to submit his next five opponents in Tyler Bayer, Kyle Walker, Elijah Gboille, Dustin Long, culminating in submitting Jonavin Webb via brabo choke at CFFC 72. At Dana White's Contender Series 18 he took on Michael Lombardo and defeated him via unanimous decision to pick up his first and only decision win at that point as a professional.

In the co-main event of CFFC 78, Daukaus submitted Stephen Regman in the second round via brabo choke. At CFFC 81 he tapped out Nolan Norwood via brabo choke in round two.

Ultimate Fighting Championship
Daukaus made his UFC debut as a short notice injury replacement for Ian Heinisch against Brendan Allen on June 27, 2020, at UFC on ESPN: Poirier vs. Hooker. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Daukaus faced Dustin Stoltzfus on November 21, 2020, at UFC 255. After dominating the bout, he won it via unanimous decision.

Daukaus was scheduled to face Aliskhab Khizriev on April 10, 2021, at UFC on ABC: Vettori vs. Holland. However, the bout was pulled from the card on April 7 due to COVID-19 protocols.

Daukaus faced Phil Hawes on May 8, 2021, at UFC on ESPN: Rodriguez vs. Waterson. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

As the first bout of his new four-fight contract, Daukaus faced Kevin Holland on October 2, 2021, at UFC Fight Night 193. A clash of heads early into the fight knocked Holland unconscious briefly, but he continued to fight and was eventually submitted by Daukaus via a standing rear-naked choke. However, referee Dan Miragliotta reviewed the footage via replay and it was deemed the head clash led to the sequence of events resulting in Daukaus' win. Therefore, the fight was declared a no contest after the accidental headbutt. The rematch of the pair was scheduled on November 13, 2021, at UFC Fight Night 197. However, Holland withdrew from the bout due to injury and was replaced by Roman Dolidze. In turn, the bout was scrapped due to COVID-19 protocols related to Dolidze’s camp.

Daukaus was scheduled to face Julian Marquez on February 19, 2022, at UFC Fight Night 201. However, Marquez was pulled from the event for undisclosed reasons, and he was replaced by Jamie Pickett. He won the fight via D'Arce choke submission in the first round. The win earned Daukaus his first Performance of the Night bonus award.

Daukaus was rescheduled to face Roman Dolidze on June 18, 2022, at UFC on ESPN 37. He lost the fight via knockout in round one.

Daukaus faced Eryk Anders on December 3, 2022, at UFC on ESPN 42. He lost the bout via TKO stoppage in the second round.

It was announced in late January 2023 that Daukaus had fought out his contract, and was not re-signed by the UFC.

Post UFC
In his first bout after leaving the UFC, Daukaus faced Robert Gidron on June 16, 2023, at CFFC 120, defeating him via rear-naked choke at the end of the first round.

On September 2, 2023, Daukaus won the CFFC Middleweight championship for the second time after defeating Gregg Ellis by unanimous decision.

Daukaus defended his title against Sean Connor Fallon on February 9, 2024 at CFFC 129. He would win the fight via third round submission.

Daukaus defended his title against Keanan Patershuk on June 14, 2024 at CFFC 132 by knockout in the first round.

Professional grappling career
Daukaus competed against Eryk Anders at Fury Pro Grappling 8 on December 30, 2023. He lost the match by decision.

Championships and accomplishments

 * Ultimate Fighting Championship
 * Performance of the Night (One time) vs. Jamie Pickett
 * Cage Fury Fighting Championships
 * Cage Fury Middleweight Championship (Two times; current)
 * Two successful title defenses (first reign)
 * Two successful title defenses (second reign)
 * Most Cage Fury Middleweight title fight wins (6)