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UFC Looking to Finalize Fight Between Philadelphia’s Chris Daukaus and Derrick Lewis
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Did you know there’s a Philly cop fighting in the UFC?
No joke. His name is Chris Daukaus, and he won by TKO this past Saturday night to improve to 12-3 overall and 4-0 since joining the promotion in 2020.
The victory over Shamil Abdurakhimov landed him the #7 ranking in the heavyweight division, and now the UFC is trying to finalize a bout against former title contender Derrick Lewis:
Per Dana White (@danawhite) … Chris Daukaus, fresh off his win at UFC 266, will face Derrick Lewis at UFC Fight Night on Dec. 18 later this year. Big one at heavyweight …
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) September 28, 2021
Sounds like a banger, but it’s not official yet. Daukaus’ agency replied to the report with this:
“Nothing has been finalized. We asked for more time as @ChrisDaukausMMA is focused on @KyleDaukaus fight week.”
Kyle is Chris’s brother, a UFC middleweight who fights Kevin Holland Saturday night in Vegas. Chris will be in his corner.
But assuming this fight gets confirmed, it’s a HUGE opportunity for the elder Daukaus. Derrick Lewis is a fan favorite knockout artist, a guy who is ranked third in the division and fought for the interim belt in his last outing. Lewis is 25-8 and has won four of his last five, so if Chris can pull this off, he’s going to find himself in the top five with guys like Stipe Miocic, Curtis Blaydes, and Alexander Volkov on deck.
It’s pretty cool on a local level. Eddie Alvarez once was the de facto “Philly guy” in the UFC, but he left to join the promotion ONE Championship a few years ago. Paul Felder retired shortly after. So now the Daukaus brothers are the region’s best representation, and their story is pretty interesting. Chris is a 10-year Philly cop and North Catholic grad. He dropped out of Penn State and didn’t finish his degree. Kyle is four years younger and won the Cage Fury middleweight title in Atlantic City, then defended the belt in Philly and Bensalem. If you want to talk about classic Philadelphia success stories, this totally fits the bill.
🎁 @ChrisDaukausMMA gave himself a KO victory for his birthday 🎂
[ #UFC266 | Live NOW on @ESPNPlus & ESPNews ] pic.twitter.com/1Z7R7MXxeL— UFC (@ufc) September 26, 2021
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com