Kyle
Daukaus had to conquer some demons after the end of his first
stint with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Daukaus (17-4) is scheduled to fight Bo Nickal
(8-1) in a middleweight matchup on the
UFC White House card on June 14. The placement of Daukaus on
the seven-bout billing surprised many, given that one year ago,
Daukaus was on the outside of the UFC looking in. His first stint
did not go well, with the Pennsylvanian washing out of the
promotion with a record of 2-4-1.
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After leaving the UFC, “The D’Arce Knight” saddled back up with his
developmental organization of Cage Fury Fighting Championships in the
tri-state area. In the span of a year, Daukaus crushed four foes to
pick up a title and rebuild his confidence. A late replacement
opportunity against Michel
Pereira in 2025 worked in his favor as he staged the surprise
upset in his UFC return to make himself one to watch in the
division going forward. His 50-second submission of Gerald
Meerschaert springboarded him into the biggest opportunity of
his career.
Hated the UFC, hated the sport
Daukaus recently revealed that he did not have good feelings about
the UFC after he was released the first time. While he kept
training, Daukaus admitted that he wasn’t even sure if he would
continue fighting professionally, and even shied away from watching
UFC fights for a few months. However, he then consciously decided
that he had to make his way back into the UFC if he wanted to
continue fighting for a living. Daukaus said in an interview with
the UFC:
“I kind of hated the UFC, to be honest with you, after that
happened. Not like hated the company in itself, but just hated the
sport itself. I didn’t watch any of the fights for a good three or
four months. I trained a ton but I really kind of got away from the
UFC, got away from watching it. And I wasn’t really sure if I was
gonna continue. I was really hesitant on what was gonna happen.
Then I told myself that if I’m gonna continue to do this, I had to
get back to the UFC. There’s no ifs and buts about it. This is what
I’m gonna do and I’m gonna get back, and here I am.”