Saturday evening, Katharine will be in attendance when Kyle faces off with Gerald Meerschaert at Madison Square Garden as part of the VeChain UFC 322 preliminary card. And yes, the couple has a plan in place in case their new arrival opts to turn up sooner than anticipated.
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“We actually have a plan set,” Daukaus said with a smile on Wednesday morning. “I have to be down in the lobby on Saturday at 3:30pm, so I told her she has until 3:30pm on Saturday to let me know.
“I told her ‘Once I hit 3:30pm and I’m in the lobby, heading to the fight, if you go into labor after that, you’ve got to figure it out. I won’t be there — I’ll be fighting.’”
The proud and expecting father smiled and laughed, making it clear that his wife is on board and understanding of the “in case of emergency” Saturday plan, with both parents hopeful that their second child turns up after dad is done throwing hands at “The World’s Most Famous Arena” this weekend.
The impending arrival of his second child isn’t the only reason Daukaus has a permanent smile etched across his face these days, though, as sitting in a midtown hotel room a few days away from competing in arguably the biggest UFC card of the year wasn’t necessarily something he thought he would be doing as recently as four months ago.
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Back in the summer, the 32-year-old was in the midst of training camp, preparing to defend his CFFC middleweight title for a third time, when he was offered a short-notice opportunity to return to the UFC. He jumped at the chance, ventured to Shanghai, and knocked out Michel Pereira in 43 seconds, collecting his fifth straight victory and first win inside the Octagon since submitting Jamie Pickett in February 2022.
“When I was in the UFC before, I kind of took everything for granted; I figured I’d be here for a while,” said Daukaus, who was released following consecutive setbacks and a seven-fight run that yielded just a pair of victories at the end of 2022. “That ended, and I had to build back up to where I was, get that fire again — that urge I had before, when I first started out, when I was 9-0 as a professional.
“Everybody has to go through hardships in their life. Growing up, I was very gifted with my life — there was never really a struggle in my life; I never went through any real hardships or anything like that when I was younger, growing up. I feel like this is partially that — me having a hard time, struggling, figuring out where I am and where I should be, what I really want in life — and I feel like it has really helped, and not only made me better as a person, but as a fighter as well.”
Getting bounced from the promotion the first time around and welcoming his first child completely shifted the way the lanky finisher looked at his profession and prompted a shift in mindset to something more competitive, more violent.
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“Starting out, to me, this was a sport; it was ‘we’re just going out there and competing.’ I had no aggression in terms of going out there and hurting my opponent, but to be honest, after my first run in the UFC, seeing my brother’s career as well, I told myself, ‘I have to go out there and hurt these guys.’
“I never had this before, but it goes back to the kid thing: these guys are trying to take food from my kids and this is how I’m providing, so yeah, I have to go out there and hurt this guy, regardless of what he has going on in his life, who’s in his life and whatnot. My family comes first and I’m gonna make sure that happens on Saturday night.”
The fact that he’s competing this weekend in New York City feels a little like the fight gods paying him back for the effort he put in between his first and second UFC tours and the growth he’s experienced as both a man and fighter.
When we spoke in September following his win over Pereira, Daukaus mentioned he’d like to fight towards the end of the UFC calendar year, mentioning this weekend’s pay-per-view event at Madison Square Garden as a preferred date, adding that he was in no hurry to face anyone in the Top 15 after just a single appearance back in the Octagon.
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Fast forward a handful of weeks, and he’s in New York, set to take on Meerschaert, a crafty veteran who resides comfortably in the middle of the middleweight hierarchy.
“It’s great, man; God’s good to me,” he said when asked about getting each of the items on his post-win wish list ticked off this time around. “I feel like it’s a real blessing of where I am right now in my life.
“This return to the UFC, the performance I had against Pereira, having a second baby now, and fighting at MSG for the top organization in the top stadium in the sport — nothing could be better in my life right now. I’m just taking everything in. I’m very thankful and very grateful for life right now.”
You could feel how much Daukaus appreciated the opportunity to compete in the UFC again after his victory over Pereira in China, and three months later, ahead of his second appearance of the year, that appreciation has only grown.
“Man, it means everything; it really does mean everything,” Daukaus said when asked about the impact of earning another victory this weekend. “Again, to go back to where I was to where I am now — fighting at MSG, on potentially the biggest card of the year, for the UFC; it really just means everything to me. I get goosebumps talking about it now.
“I can’t wait to go out there and perform, especially because I’m so close to home too,” he added. “Obviously, the last fight was in China, so we had a long flight, but this — I drove here; I drove two hours to the hotel.
“It’s very close to home and I’m just excited to perform.”
Three years after suffering back-to-back stoppage losses and washing out of the UFC, Daukaus is back, coming off the best performance of his career, armed with a different outlook and the maturity needed to truly make a go of things this time around.
And a victory on Saturday night will make that even clearer for his contemporaries in the 185-pound weight class.
“This victory is gonna show the maturing I’ve done in my life, the maturity that I have, and that I’m ready for anything and anybody that they put ahead of me,” he said. “I think it just puts everyone on (notice) of where I am and to not look passed me, like ‘Oh s*** — this is who he is. We kind of looked passed him the first time, but the second time around, he’s an issue now.’”
Yes, he is.
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