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The UFC showed Chris Daukaus an enormous amount of respect in the aftermath of his first-round knockout loss in December to Derrick Lewis.
Daukaus will return to the Octagon on Saturday (7 p.m. ET, ESPN) in Columbus for the first time since that loss and will meet fourth-ranked Curtis Blaydes in the main event.
Not only did the UFC provide him with a higher-ranked opponent — Blaydes is one spot ahead of Lewis — but it put him in the main event.
It’s a not-so-subtle sign of the UFC’s belief in him.
“I truly thank the UFC for doing that and giving me this second opportunity at a main event, which, to be honest with you, I didn’t expect,” Daukaus told Yahoo Sports. “I didn’t expect to get another main event without at least getting another three or four wins under my belt. I was given the main event status against Derrick Lewis as a result of all the hard work I’d put in and finishing all of those fights.
“I was not expecting to come back and be in this situation, but it’s absolutely [a great sign of respect] and it means a lot to me.”
To keep that confidence, Daukaus needs to perform against a guy who is as tough as they come. Blaydes is 15-3 overall and has only been beaten by two men: Twice by heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou and once by Lewis.
Blaydes has a long list of victims, and has been in control in nearly every fight he’s fought.
But Daukaus loves the matchup from his standpoint. Lewis, he said, was far quicker and slicker than he’d believed by watching him on video. But he feels he’s got the antidote for what Blaydes likes to do.
Daukaus has a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu but he hasn’t often shown it. He hasn’t had a submission in his career and 11 of his 12 pro victories are by knockout.
His grappling ability could come into play against Blaydes, however.
“I think the thing that really works in my favor is that I’ve only shown off my hands in my UFC fights,” Daukaus said. “That’s not by design. I just really like punching people in the face. But as you hear, every fights starts on the feet and it’s just me starting out and connecting with people. I feel confident enough in my striking to go against the best guys in the world.
“But it’s a good thing to have in your back pocket. I’m not trying to bring a lot of attention to it, but it’s something that I can rely on if and when the time calls for it.”
Despite the one-sided loss to Lewis, Daukaus is convinced he’s among the elite of the elite and says there isn’t a heavyweight in the world he doesn’t believe he can defeat.
For whatever reason, he wasn’t himself and said Lewis was more athletic than he believed and fought very wisely.
“I didn’t think Derrick was going to be as quick or as slick as he was,” Daukaus said. “Studying film, you realize that guys are more athletic and quicker than they appear or that people give them credit for. That’s what I wasn’t expecting from Derrick. I think I was going to be able to close the distance. I’ve learned from that.
“So now, I’m fully expecting Curtis to be able to touch me from the outside and me being able to have to work my way in.”
Blaydes has a tendency to swell quickly after being hit, Daukaus said, and it’s something he plans to try to capitalize upon.
Don’t look for him to throw a series of home run shots looking to get Blaydes out of there with one punch. Instead of going for homers, Daukaus will look for singles and doubles and touch up Blaydes, hoping to compromise him and enable him at some point to go for the finish.
Daukaus isn’t one to try for a decision and so he’ll use anything at his disposal to try to get a finish.
“I’m not a fool and I know that Curtis is no kind of a punching bag,” Daukaus said. “Yeah, he was knocked out three times, but he was knocked out by two of the hardest-hitting guys in the history of the UFC and of this sport. You get hit flush by Francis Ngannou and Derrick Lewis, I don’t care who you are, it’s almost impossible to stand up to that. It’s part of the game.
“I think his chin holds up just fine. But he does tend to show a lot of damage early and so I’m going to go out there and look to touch him a lot and inflict some damage. I’ll try to touch him to the point where he’s compromised or where the referee decides it’s too much to go on. But whatever I have to do [to win], I will.”