# Kyle Daukaus

Kyle Daukaus (/ˈdɔːkəs/ DAW-kəs; 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.

## Mixed martial arts career
### 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.
On December 11, 2024, it was announced that Daukaus was eligible to be drafted in the Global Fight League. However, he was not drafted for the 2025 season.

## 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)

## Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown :
| 20 matches | 15 wins | 4 losses |
| By knockout | 1 | 2 |
| By submission | 11 | 0 |
| By decision | 3 | 2 |
| No contests | 1 | 1 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
| Win | 15–4 (1) | Keanan Patershuk | KO (punches) | Cage Fury FC 132 | June 14, 2024 | 1 | 1:24 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States | Defended the Cage Fury FC Middleweight Championship. |
| Win | 14–4 (1) | Sean Connor Fallon | Submission (brabo choke) | Cage Fury FC 129 | February 9, 2024 | 3 | 3:45 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States | Defended the Cage Fury FC Middleweight Championship. |
| Win | 13–4 (1) | Gregg Ellis | Decision (unanimous) | Cage Fury FC 124 | September 2, 2023 | 4 | 5:00 | Bensalem, Pennsylvania, United States | Won the Cage Fury FC Middleweight Championship. |
| Win | 12–4 (1) | Robert Gidron | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Cage Fury FC 120 | June 16, 2023 | 1 | 4:59 | Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States | |
| Loss | 11–4 (1) | Eryk Anders | TKO (punches) | UFC on ESPN: Thompson vs. Holland | December 3, 2022 | 2 | 2:45 | Orlando, Florida, United States | |
| Loss | 11–3 (1) | Roman Dolidze | KO (knee and punches) | UFC on ESPN: Kattar vs. Emmett | June 18, 2022 | 1 | 1:13 | Austin, Texas, United States | |
| Win | 11–2 (1) | Jamie Pickett | Submission (brabo choke) | UFC Fight Night: Walker vs. Hill | February 19, 2022 | 1 | 4:59 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Catchweight (195 lb) bout. Performance of the Night. |
| NC | 10–2 (1) | Kevin Holland | NC (accidental clash of heads) | UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Walker | October 2, 2021 | 1 | 3:43 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Accidental clash of heads knocked Holland unconscious. |
| Loss | 10–2 | Phil Hawes | Decision (unanimous) | UFC on ESPN: Rodriguez vs. Waterson | May 8, 2021 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 10–1 | Dustin Stoltzfus | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 255 | November 21, 2020 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Loss | 9–1 | Brendan Allen | Decision (unanimous) | UFC on ESPN: Poirier vs. Hooker | June 27, 2020 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 9–0 | Nolan Norwood | Submission (brabo choke) | CFFC 81: Sabatini vs. Gonzalez | February 1, 2020 | 2 | 4:36 | Bensalem, Pennsylvania, United States | Defended the Cage Fury FC Middleweight Championship. |
| Win | 8–0 | Stephen Regman | Submission (brabo choke) | CFFC 78: Santella vs. Shutt | September 21, 2019 | 2 | 0:52 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States | Defended the Cage Fury FC Middleweight Championship. |
| Win | 7–0 | Michael Lombardo | Decision (unanimous) | Dana White's Contender Series 18 | June 25, 2019 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 6–0 | Jonavin Webb | Technical Submission (brabo choke) | CFFC 72: Brady vs. Abdul-Hakim | February 16, 2019 | 3 | 5:00 | Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States | Won the vacant Cage Fury FC Middleweight Championship. |
| Win | 5–0 | Dustin Long | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Ring of Combat 66 | November 16, 2018 | 1 | 2:51 | Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States | |
| Win | 4–0 | Elijah Gbollie | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Art of War Cage Fighting 5 | February 16, 2018 | 2 | 4:30 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States | |
| Win | 3–0 | Tyler Bayer | Submission (brabo choke) | CFFC 69 | December 16, 2017 | 2 | 2:32 | Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States | |
| Win | 2–0 | Kyle Walker | Submission (brabo choke) | KOTC: Regulator | July 1, 2017 | 1 | 1:41 | Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, United States | |
| Win | 1–0 | Dino Juklo | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Asylum Fight League 53 | February 18, 2017 | 1 | 2:35 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States | Middleweight debut. |