Herb Dean is the referee. Daukaus immediately tags Meerschaert with
a straight left. Daukaus wades in with a straight left hand that
rocks Meerschaert, who is already in retreat mode. Meerschaert
falls to the floor after absorbing another shot. Daukaus follows
him down and tees off with hammerfists before locking in a brabo
choke. Daukaus powers Meerschaert to his back and applies the squeeze, and
it’s only a matter of moments before the veteran middleweight is
forced to tap out. Daukaus now has back-to-back first
round finishes since returning to the UFC.

The younger Daukaus brother returns to the UFC after a mixed first
run in the Octagon followed a second middleweight title win in Cage Fury Fighting Championships after his release. Tasked with
getting Daukaus’ second stint off to a bad start will be noted
Brazilian madman Pereira. The referee on duty is Marc Goddard.
Daukaus is southpaw, Pereira orthodox. Daukaus stalks forward and
Pereira gives ground. Pereira nails Daukaus with a huge body kick,
but he wears it well. Seconds later, Daukaus clips the onrushing “Demolidor” with a short
right hook to the jaw that drops him to his butt. Pereira tries to
rally, but Daukaus pounces with a couple of glancing fists, then
three jackhammer elbows that spur Goddard into action for the
save. Sensational knockout and a triumphant return for
“The D’Arce Knight,” and for those keeping track at home, that
makes two sub-minute finishes in the first four fights at UFC
Shanghai. Yes, please.

Middleweights open up the main card in a fight that will get one
man back up to .500 inside the Octagon. Whether that is former
light heavyweight Anders (14-7, 1 NC; 6-7, 1 NC UFC) or submission
specialist Daukaus (11-3, 1 NC; 2-3, 1 NC UFC), that remains to be
seen. They bump fists in front of referee Keith Peterson, who
clocks them in right after ejecting nonsense from the Amway Center.
Anders strikes first with a body kick, and Daukaus strides forward
with two punches and two low kicks in response. Anders
stutter-steps his way forward, and Daukaus intercepts him with a
few punches and makes Anders turn around. As they trade leather,
commentators Michael Bisping and Daniel Cormier talk about popular
television shows. Daukaus gets off a knee to the body, and he
shoots in for a double but is stuffed by the brick wall former
football player. Daukaus sticks out a jab, and when he kicks the
body, Anders lifts him up and throws him to the ground like a sack
of potatoes. Anders lords over his grounded opponent with several
slapping low kicks, and Daukaus considers a leglock before Anders
hops away. Daukaus allows his opponent to adjust his shorts, and
they touch ‘em up before re-engaging. Daukaus feints and gets
kicked, and he wings a left hand over the top that slams into the
side of Anders’ head. Anders backs his man up and punches the body,
prompting Daukaus to spring into action. The Philadelphia native
leaps forward, and after landing a few, Anders clips him with a
right hand and sends Daukaus tumbling to the mat. Anders considers
kicking the legs a few times before letting Daukaus back up, and
Daukaus takes a few deep breaths when coming back to his feet.
Anders is swinging heavily, and Daukaus does not shy away from
these exchanges as he similarly slugs back. Daukaus scores thudding
hooks on the side of Anders’ head, but Anders is tough and throws
back with a ferocious uppercut that snaps the head back. Anders
reddens the nose with a one-two, and he continues to push the pace
as he works the body and head. The fighters rush together, and the
crown of Anders’ head slams square into Daukaus’ face and drops him
to his knees. Peterson sees it and immediately calls it, and he
informs the outside officials that it was an accidental clash of
heads. Daukaus takes the time he needs and gets right back to it,
but Anders is on him and belts him with a few punches with a left
hand that send Daukaus straight back to the floor. As Daukaus
attempts to scramble and look for some kind of late submission, the
round ends. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Anders Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Anders Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Anders

Anders coils his fist and cracks Daukaus in the face with a brutal
left hand. Daukaus awkwardly slumps to his knees and half-heartedly
pursues a low single takedown, only to get shoved to his back, as
Anders beats him down with right hand after merciless right hand.
The hammerfists and punches continue to get through while Daukaus
is shelled up, and Peterson has no choice but to call it on account
of rain. The knockout victory for Anders is his first
finish in almost three and a half years, while he also snaps a
two-fight skid in the process.

A 14-fight card – and admittedly a solid one for the ESPN airwaves,
relative to recent offers on that flagship network – has dwindled
to 13 with the co-main event scratched. We still begin the day’s
festivities in the Texas capital city of Austin, with a
middleweight matchup of power vs. technique starting things off.
The massive Georgian Dolidze (9-1, 3-1 UFC) will battle it out
against sneaky submission specialist Daukaus (11-2, 1 NC; 2-2, 1 NC
UFC) in a matchup that could put one within spitting distance of
the rankings, and referee Mike Beltran has the honors of the first
fight of the card. There is a side glove touch to start the night,
and Daukaus leads off with a slapping low kick. Dolidze walks
through another as he stares down in opponent with bad intentions,
and he ducks forward to throw a left hook only to bang into
Daukaus’ head. There is no cut on either man, and Beltran lets him
recover for a moment. When they reset, a short left hook from
Dolidze shakes Daukaus up, and Daukaus falls to his back. As he
recovers, Daukaus shoots in for a takedown while his legs
simultaneously abandon him. Dolidze’s takedown defense holds up
well as he jams Daukaus up against the wall, and Daukaus powers his
way back up to his feet and may have grabbed the fence on the way. After a clinch exchange, the Georgian lifts up a
high knee that blasts into Daukaus’ chin, crashing into it with a
sickening thud. Daukaus crumbles to the mat on his back, totally
annihilated from the blow, and he instinctively covers his face
with his arms even if he might not be with it. Dolidze seals the
deal with a short barrage of punches, leading Beltran to step in
and stop the fight. That’s one heck of a way to start
things off tonight.

Receiving an upgrade to the co-main event slot, Daukaus (10-2, 1
NC; 1-2, 1 NC UFC) and Pickett (13-6, 2-2 UFC) will handle their
business at a pre-planned 195-pound catchweight due to the latter
taking the fight on short notice. This fun stylistic clash will
draw officiating from referee Herb Dean, and the fighters gladly
touch gloves as they are happy to be fighting tonight. Pickett
strikes first with few low kicks, and Daukaus replies in kind.
Right after Daukaus wings a right hand, he changes levels to go
after a takedown. Although Pickett stays upright on the first
attempt, Daukaus sucks his legs out beneath him and drags him down.
From his back, “The Nightwolf” holds on to a guillotine choke, and
Daukaus wisely comes around with his own shoulder to set up a Von
Preux shoulder choke. Pickett lets go of his arm grip so that he
does not himself get submitted, and instead sits up and turns on
his hip to try to stand back up. Daukaus keeps his man trapped
beneath him, smacking him in the face with a few right hands, but
Pickett explodes out of the position and powers back to his feet.
Pickett tries to let his hands go when he gets upright, only to
find Daukaus right on him to go hunting for a single. The
Philadelphia native successfully lifts Pickett’s leg all the way up
in the air before slamming him to the mat, and he is quick to
secure half guard. When Pickett sits up and turns like before,
Daukaus times this to try to take his back. Pickett simply stands
up from this position, and he shucks Daukaus off of his back.
Daukaus does not let up, remaining tied to Pickett until he lets go
of his own accord. Out of nowhere, Daukaus drills Pickett with a
few punches square on the chin, and when Pickett is shaken up,
Daukaus leaps forward to snag another takedown. Pickett falls to his back, and when he rolls to his
side, Daukaus quickly attacks with a sneaky brabo choke from a
difficult angle. In half guard, Daukaus keeps the choke snaked
around Pickett’s neck and it is tight. With no way to get out,
Pickett wriggles his arm free so that he can tap out on Daukaus’
side barely one second before the horn blares. There is a bit
of confusion as to the timing of the stoppage, or whether Pickett
reached the end of the round, but it appears that he tapped out
just before the bell. What a way to win a fight!

In the co-main event, two middleweights who have struggled as of
late in Holland (21-7, 8-4 UFC) and Daukaus (10-2, 1-2 UFC) will
pair off in hopes of staying afloat on the ever-growing roster.
Their finish rates are 1% apart, with Holland preferring the
knockout while all of Daukaus’ wins inside the distance have come
by submission, most of which from a brabo choke. Can Daukaus give
Holland fits on the ground, or has “Trailblazer” ironed out those
deficiencies? Like referee Dan Miragliotta, we are about to find
out after the two touch gloves. Holland begins with a slapping low
kick, and he darts forward with a big right hand. Daukaus responds
with a few right hands, and he charges in for a takedown try.
Holland is ready for it, and he gets pushed to the fence and
possibly kneed low. Holland keeps himself upright as he starts
talking to the commentary team, and he smiles and boxes Daukaus’
ears. Holland gets dragged to a knee, but he pops back up without
concern. Daukaus looks to trip him down, and “Trailblazer” keeps
his balance and starts talking more trash. Holland breaks free and
finds himself in submission danger when Daukaus pulls for a
standing guillotine choke. Holland provides humorous commentary to
commentator Daniel Cormier’s commentary, making himself laugh while
punching his foe in the side. Daukaus holds on in this stalemate
position as neither can advance, and Holland stomps the toes
several times until Miragliotta breaks them up. Holland gets off a one-two, and when he leans
forward to strike, the two clash heads and Holland falls forward to
the ground in a heap. Miragliotta calls for a replay and Daukaus
hunts for a brabo choke that he turns into a guillotine. Holland
gets back to his knees and stands up, but Daukaus is on his back
and he snares a rear-naked choke. The choke is incredibly tight,
and Holland grimaces and taps out. There is immediate
controversy as Holland was clearly compromised by the clash of
heads. There is no bad blood, as they hug it out while the referees
and commission officials talk over the next steps. Replay official
Herb Dean informs Miragliotta that he could assign the result as a
no contest depending on how he feels and reviews the sequence. A
lengthy period of confusion follows, and Holland asks for them to
run it back no matter the final result. Daukaus is fine with this.
It appears that this fight will not be a win for Daukaus, and it is
good for the fighters involved that instant replay has been
implemented.

The new main card opener sees a middleweight clash between
representatives of rival states New Jersey and Pennsylvania, as
Hawes (10-2, 2-0 UFC) will ply his knockout-friendly trade against
submission specialist Daukaus (10-1, 1-1 UFC). The third man in the
cage for a fight that may not last long is referee Mark Smith, and
there is no serious glove touch before the two get down to
business. The blonde-haired Hawes comes out aggressively, throwing
bombs and backing Daukaus up immediately. Hawes has a kick clip the
cup, and there is a pause for just a second or two. Daukaus adjusts
himself and throws back with heavy leather, and Hawes is either
hurt or off-balance, as he slips back. Hawes interrupts an
advancing Daukaus with a front kick, and he goes back to stalking
the Philadelphia native down and throwing big strikes. Out of
nowhere, Hawes ducks down, scoops Daukaus up and slams him down.
Daukaus defends off his back with a guillotine choke, but he is
immediately in danger for the Von Preux choke. Hawes recognizes
this and presses his shoulder down, but he cannot finish it.
Instead, Daukaus uses pure power to roll Hawes over and put him on
his back. “Megatron” slides right into danger with a choke attempt
from Daukaus, but he scrambles and gets out of harm’s way. When he
gets to his knees, Daukaus takes his back. Hawes defends the hooks,
powers back to his feet, and is quick to fight off a single leg
takedown attempt from Daukaus. When he does not land it, Daukaus
drops to his knees for a double, and that too comes up short.
Hawes, while keeping himself upright, is landing short strikes to
the body and head to make Daukaus think twice about his position.
Hawes lifts Daukaus up with a knee to the chest, but he cannot get
the Pennsylvanian off of him. Daukaus embraces the grind, pressing
Hawes into the wire and putting his full body weight on his man.
Both men try to get off elbows, but neither are successful. Daukaus
sells out for a double, and Hawes sprawls against the cage and
keeps his balance to fight off this attempt. Hawes introduces his
knee to Daukaus’ torso, and the two separate with seconds to spare.
Neither throw anything of note until the bell sounds. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Daukaus Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Daukaus Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Daukaus

The middleweights rush out of their corners to meet in the middle,
but it does not take long for Hawes to push the pace and start
backing Daukaus up against the fence. Daukaus tries to spring
forward with a kick to the body, and Hawes interrupts him and lands
a few punches. Daukaus swings a spinning strike, and Hawes does not
completely avoid it. “Megatron” is suddenly rocked, and Daukaus
lays into him with a salvo of punches to try to finish the job.
Hawes gains the wherewithal to embrace the grappling, and even
though he cannot get the takedown, he gains valuable time clearing
his head. The two clinch briefly, and push off, where both men
trade heavy shots. Daukaus gets the better of an exchange, and
Hawes bends over and slams his right hand into the torso. A
cracking right hand puts Daukaus on roller skates for a moment, and
the Philadelphia native crashes in to clinch and try to take the
fight down. Daukaus looks to trip his man down, attack singles or
otherwise plant Hawes on his back, but the Sanford MMA fighter
stands tall and looks frustrated. Hawes frames off to nail Daukaus
with a stern elbow, and this forces Daukaus to backpedal quickly.
Hawes parries a strike to fire back at Daukaus, and he mixes things
up with body strikes and head shots. “Megatron” notices his body
work is starting to make a difference, and he lifts up a knee to
the body. The knee does not rise high enough, and it clunks
straight into Daukaus’ cup. Thirty seconds are all Daukaus needs to
catch his breath, and Hawes picks up where he left off with body
shots. As he targets the body and again with impunity, Daukaus
shoots in low for a takedown to stop this. Hawes stuffs it and
pushes Daukaus back, where he drills Daukaus with a right hand and
a front kick that nails Daukaus in the head when Daukaus bends
over. Hawes hunts Daukaus down with strikes until the horn
blares. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Hawes Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Hawes Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Hawes

Smith calls in the doctor between rounds to check a cut around
Daukaus’ eye, but there is no concern and the fight clocks in
normally. Hawes loads up on several big shots to begin the round,
alternating between the head and body with punches and kicks. Hawes
works the body, catches a body kick, and puts Daukaus on his back.
Daukaus throws up his legs quickly to defend with a triangle choke
off his back, but “Megatron” laughs it off, breaks the position and
postures up in Daukaus’ guard. There may have been an eye poke for
Hawes, but he is warned in passing as Daukaus complains. Daukaus
opens and closes his guard to try to find a better way out, all
while Hawes pounds on him with short strikes. Individually, they
may not be especially damaging, but they are adding up quickly as
time ticks off the clock. Daukaus punches the back of the head a
few times in passing, and he grimaces when his own blood trickles
into his eye. Hawes steps into half guard, where he begins to
unleash a series of punches to try to pound Daukaus out. Daukaus
twists and nearly climbs to his feet, but Hawes pushes him back
over and continues to work him over with left hands. Smith asks for
Daukaus to keep moving and defend himself, and Hawes uses this as
an opportunity to start slamming down elbows. Hawes continues to
batter Daukaus with punches and elbows, and once more, Hawes
appears to scrape the eye with his fingers. Daukaus appears
miserable as blood is in his eyes, Hawes relentlessly punches him,
and he cannot do anything but get Hawes back to his full guard. The
10-second clapper leads Daukaus to close his guard to lock Hawes
down, where he survives and does not take much more punishment
until the fight is over. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-8 Hawes (29-27 Hawes) Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-8 Hawes (29-27 Hawes) Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-8 Hawes (29-27 Hawes)

We move now to the middleweight division for an all-Pennsylvania
battle, where two men searching for their first win come to blows
as brabo choke aficionado Daukaus (9-1, 0-1 UFC) meets Contender
Series signee Stoltzfus (13-1, 0-0 UFC). Keeping a lid on the
action is referee Mark Smith, and the two 185ers do not touch
gloves to check in the fight. Stoltzfus leads off with a front
kick, and Daukaus pushes it away and tries to walk his opponent
down. Daukaus reaches out with his own front kick, and Stoltzfus
sits down and slams his shin into Daukaus’ calf. Daukaus does not
like this, as he races forward into the clinch to try to drag
Stoltzfus down to the ground with a body lock and trip. Daukaus
works the body with some short shots as he presses his full body
weight on to Stoltzfus, and he goes after a single leg but gets
rebuffed. When Stoltzfus pops him in the ear, Daukaus lifts him in
the air and nearly slams him down, but Stoltzfus keeps his footing
when he lands and gets pushed back into the fence again. Stoltzfus
pushes off his opponent’s face before dropping down for a single
leg takedown, but Daukaus breaks the grip and narrowly avoids an
elbow zooming by his face. Daukaus steps through the position to
elevate Stoltzfus and set him down, where he drops down an elbow
immediately. Stoltzfus keeps slapping the side of Daukaus’ head and
ears, and Daukaus thanks him for it by landing some much heavier
punches and elbows. Stoltzfus sits up but Daukaus drops low to push
him over, and Daukaus cannot enter into Stoltzfus’ guard. Stoltzfus
throws his legs up for an armbar, and an omoplata to sweep the
position, but he cannot get either and almost reverses the
position. Stoltzfus rolls through for a leg lock, and Daukaus
pushes off to get free. Stoltzfus continues to roll and almost has
a calf slicer, but he sits on top until the horn sounds. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Daukaus Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Daukaus Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Daukaus

Daukaus leads off the round swinging heavy with kicks and punches,
and he busts up Stoltzfus’ nose on the way in. He keeps landing,
but one knee clips the cup so we have a pause in the action. When
the round resumes, Daukaus lets fly a head kick that gets blocked
but still pushes Stoltzfus back. Stoltzfus tries to clinch up, but
he finds himself pushes back into the fence with ease from Daukaus.
When they separate, Daukaus sticks him with a jab and snaps his
head back with a left and a right hand. Stoltzfus tries to push
off, but Daukaus locks him back down against the cage. Daukaus
grinds on his man for a time, until Stoltzfus spins him out and
does much of the same as the action has largely stalled out. Both
men land single knee strikes to the breadbasket, and Daukaus tries
and fails to trip Stoltzfus down. Daukaus ducks down to land a
right hand, and he gets cracked with a counter. After eating that
shot, Daukaus clinches back up and starts ripping the body with
left hands. Stoltzfus responds with a crisp elbow that ricochets
off the nose, and Daukaus tries to take the fight down once more.
Daukaus hits a trip, but Stoltzfus pops back up without much
effort. Daukaus tries to pin him to the cage and gets warned for
grabbing the cage, so Daukaus backs off and blocks a head kick.
Daukaus steps forward and starts winging elbows, and one connects
of merit. The two engage in a short brawl until the round
concludes. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Daukaus Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Daukaus Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Daukaus

Daukaus flings up a head kick to begin the round, and Stoltzfus
blocks and moves away. Both men start unloading bombs, and Daukaus
scores at the end of a left hook that makes Stoltzfus shoot in for
a desperation takedown. Daukaus manages to keep his footing and
turn Stoltzfus against the cage, where he starts attacking the body
once more, in the position he spent most of the previous frame.
Stoltzfus tries to power out of the position by shooting low for a
single, and Daukaus hops his way across the Octagon before finding
his back to the fence. Daukaus lifts him up with a knee to the body
before turning his man about and slinging an elbow that grazes his
intended target. Daukaus once more ties Stoltzfus up, and the words
“Embrace the Grind” of commentators gone by echo through our minds.
Out of nowhere, Stoltzfus drops down to attack a leg lock, and
Daukaus turns through it and smashes Stoltzfus in the face a few
times. Stoltzfus looks up at him in confusion as Daukaus steps away
and makes Stoltzfus stand back up. Daukaus flicks out a jab several
times to break up the advancing offense of Stoltzfus, and Stoltzfus
loads up on looping strikes that are evaded or guarded against.
Daukaus bullies Stoltzfus to the fence and down to the ground,
where he starts pummeling his opponent with strikes. Stoltzfus
keeps himself together, and Daukaus blasts him to the body to make
Stoltzfus double over. Daukaus unleashes a salvo of punches high
and low and Stoltzfus is turtling up in trouble, but Stoltzfus
manages to get upright again. When Stoltzfus shoots in, Daukaus
ties up a brabo choke and it is tight. Stoltzfus falls to his knees
and to his back to pull out of the choke, and Daukaus walks away as
he celebrates his impending victory. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Daukaus (30-27 Daukaus) Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Daukaus (30-27 Daukaus) Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Daukaus (30-27
Daukaus)

Up next at middleweight, two Dana White’s Contender Series victors
face off as “All In” Allen (14-3, 2-0 UFC) tries to become the
first fighter to beat Daukaus (9-0, 0-0 UFC). Our Octagon ranger is
referee Chris Tognoni, and there is no glove touch between the two
before slinging leather. Daukaus connects with a heavy kick
quickly, and Allen reacts with a high kick that gets blocked. They
trade leg kicks, and Allen jumps forward with a left hook. Daukaus
catches him in the air and tries to turn it into a takedown, but
“All In” stays all on his feet. Daukaus tries to change levels, and
Allen times a flush knee right on the button and sends Daukaus
face-down to the ground. Allen jumps on top, right into mount, and
rains down a few elbows before Daukaus turns around. The undefeated
fighter turns to the cage to defend against a choke, so Allen steps
over and smashes down some left hands. Daukaus turns to stop taking
these punches, and Allen readjusts to hunt for a rear-naked choke
as he adjusts himself. With his hooks in and back on the fence,
Allen proceeds to soften up his opponent with punches. Daukaus
explodes to break the hooks, and stands up much to the chagrin of
Allen. In a flash, Daukaus circles out to take Allen’s back, and he
tries to wrench Allen down to the ground to implement his own
submission game. Allen fights off a brief choke attempt to roll
around, but Daukaus is latched on tight to try to get a choke.
Allen reverses the position and winds up on top, where he enters
full guard and hacks at him with an elbow. That one elbow slices
Daukaus’ eyebrow wide open, and it starts pouring blood
immediately. Daukaus flails to get out of the bad position, and
Allen steps over into half guard to drop down a few more elbows
until we hear the horn. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Allen Ben Duffy scores the round: 10-9 Allen Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Allen

Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Allen Ben Duffy scores the round: 10-9 Allen Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Allen

The durability of the undefeated fighter holds up, as Daukaus
answers the bell and is ready for five more minutes of combat. He
starts the round by pushing the pace and taking Allen down. Allen
tries to defend it with a guillotine choke, but Daukaus defends it
and loudly introduces Allen’s forehead to one of his own elbows.
Allen throws his legs up to push his opponent off of him, but in
the scramble, Daukaus takes side control and briefly considers a
north-south choke attempt. The strike from Daukaus has caused some
serious damage to Allen, whose nose is leaking and eye is
practically swollen shut already. Allen tries to get out of harm’s
way, but in the process, gives up his back. Daukaus secures a body
triangle, and he starts hunting for a choke. Allen fights it off,
and rolls to his stomach, but Daukaus maintains back control while
squeezing the waist with his legs. When Allen starts punching
Daukaus behind his head – and he is connecting with these punches –
Daukaus nearly gets a rear-naked choke locked up. The donated
plasma has almost completely obscured the vision of Daukaus, but he
does not care as he tries to soften Allen up with punches while
fishing for a choke. Allen sways back and forth, turn a bad
situation into top position, and he starts blasting Daukaus with
strikes to end the round in style. Allen swings with crazy elbows,
and dives down to land an emphatic shot. As Daukaus holds on tight,
time expires, and this wild and bloody fight is now over. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Daukaus (29-28 Allen) Ben Duffy scores the round: 10-9 Daukaus (29-28 Allen) Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Daukaus (29-28
Allen)

Kyle Daukaus

Fight History

Fighter Skills Radar

Key Insights

Striking Profile

Key Insights

Grappling Profile

Key Insights

Conclusions Summary