Kyle Daukaus was just as surprised as everyone else when he was announced as one of the fighters competing on the upcoming UFC White House card on Sunday.
Originally scheduled to face Vicente Luque in April, Daukaus received a call from his manager informing him that UFC Chief Business Officer Hunter Campbell wanted to speak to him. A call from one of the top executives can sometimes be a bit daunting but Daukaus was pleasantly surprised by the context of the conversation.
“I wasn’t sure what was happening,” Daukaus told MMA Fighting. “We were on a three-way call, Hunter said he knew I had a fight in April but he wanted me to fight on the White House card. I was very excited and very happy and very grateful that I was selected for it.
“It was amazing to even talk to Hunter and he said, ‘I know your fight is in April, we’re going to take you out of that, move you to the White House card, so we don’t have any bumps or injuries that could potentially take you out of the fight.’ I said well, thank you, it’s a wonderful opportunity, a wonderful event, a wonderful spectacle to have at the White House. I am excited to be selected for this.”
Daukaus was offered a fight against Bo Nickal, a three-time NCAA wrestling champion and one of the top prospects on the entire UFC roster. Plus, Nickell has befriended President Donald Trump, so his inclusion on the White House card is perfect.
But this puts Doukas in an awkward position as he is not only outmatched in the fight, but it looks like he is being set up to lose with so much focus on Nickel.
None of that matters much to the 33-year-old veteran from Philadelphia, who understood the story as soon as the fight broke and it’s up to him to change those headlines come Monday morning.
“Obviously, you know he’s going to be on the card because of the political aspect with all this stuff,” Doukas said. “But I’ve seen people saying it’s not an easy fight. No matter who you’re fighting, no fight is easy. Even if you’re fighting someone who’s really bad, there’s always a chance that you can get attacked.
“Obviously, I’m a huge threat to him. That’s a big plus on my end. I’m very grateful that I got picked to go against him. If we were both ranked a few fights in I would expect us to fight, but it’s better now than later.”
Heading into the fight, Nickel has only tasted defeat once in his career and that came by body-shot knockout courtesy of Reinier de Ridder, a tall, lanky fighter who has a poor ground game.
Daukaus could easily be described the same way but he believes he actually causes too many problems for Nickle, although he would have liked if the results had been the same.
“I think I’m a better fighter than De Ridder than going out there and fighting him like that,” Doukas said. “I think I have the better skill set. My striking is a little better than De Ridder so I think that’s something I have the advantage in this fight.”
Now in his third fight and second stint with the UFC, Daukaus is certainly making the most of his opportunities.
When he fought for his UFC contract in 2022 and the promotion opted not to re-sign him, Doukas had to figure out whether he would sit back and sulk or do something about it.
He preferred the latter option, which resulted in an impressive four-fight win streak including three finishes and earned him a second chance with the UFC.
In his two fights since his return, Doukas has been fighting like a fierce man with two wins – neither reaching the one-minute mark in the opening round – and he added a knockout and a submission to his record.
“I think just maturity in myself, belief in my ability and everything,” Doukas said about the biggest difference between his first and second stints with the UFC. “The first stint in the UFC rubbed me the wrong way, the way the fights went and then I had my first son and something really changed. Having your first child gives you a little extra motivation. Not saying motivation is a thing that’s huge but it’s good when you’re training.
“I feel like back when I was fighting, I always looked at it as a sport, like good sportsmanship and I wasn’t really out there to hurt anybody. Unfortunately, I’m going out there with the mentality that I have. It’s made me better. It’s made my skills skyrocket. It showed that I’m way above fighting on the regional scene and I should have been in the UFC the whole time. I just needed a little mental click to get there. I recently “I’m hurting these people.”
Doukas knows he is a much better fighter now than he was when he left the UFC four years ago, and he hopes to demonstrate that again on Sunday against Nickel.
“I can easily run through Kyle Daukaus who was there in 2020,” Daukaus said. “I feel a lot better. It makes you humble (leaving the UFC). It not only makes you humble but it lights a fire inside you when you get released and it feels like my career is not going to end like this. I’m just not going to stop fighting.
“I’m going to make sure I can create a story with it and show people that I can get back out there and do big things.”