Chris Daukaus discusses Derrick Lewis matchup, says Jon Jones needs to get out of his own way: “He’s gotta stop being an idiot”
UFC heavyweight Chris Daukaus has exploded onto the scene in the heavyweight division with four consecutive victories to begin his career and now will have the first main event of his UFC career. Daukaus is preparing to face Derrick Lewis in the main event of a UFC Fight Night card on December 18, with an opponent and opportunity that offers the biggest reward of his career thus far.
With wins over Parker Porter, Rodrigo Nascimento, Aleksei Oleinik, and most recently Shamil Abdurakhimov all by finish, Chris Daukaus earned an opportunity to face Lewis, a former two-time title challenger. Lewis most recently came up short in his interim title fight against Ciryl Gane at UFC 265 in August, and back in 2018, he faced undisputed champion Daniel Cormier, where he also came up short. Although he’s 0-2 in title fights, Lewis is among one of the most popular and entertaining fighters in the division, and being ranked third in the division, Daukaus, ranked seventh, has a massive opportunity to jump into title contention with a victory.
In an interview with James Lynch of Low Kick MMA, Daukaus discussed his matchup against Lewis, as well as the looming presence of Jon Jones in the heavyweight division, although he’s dealing with more legal issues outside of the cage. While respecting the power of Lewis, Daukaus said he believes that he’s better everywhere in comparison, besides the one-shot power that “The Black Beast” presents.
“Stylistically, I think I’m better everywhere except for maybe he just has that super one-touch power. I think he has the most power in the division, I think he has more power than Francis [Ngannou] to be honest with you. Just because I think he carries it throughout each and every fight. We’ve seen Francis touch guys, specifically Stipe [Miocic] now granted Stipe and Francis fought a long time ago, they had a rematch and Francis has made leaps and bounds improvements in cardio and everything like that, I just think Derrick has a little bit more one-punch knockout power no matter where it goes and how long it goes.
Derrick is super athletic, people think he’s just a big one-punch guy who can just turn your lights out, he’s all those things, but he’s very athletic. The jumping knees he throws, he touches your outside then comes high with a high kick. He’s very athletic for how big he is, and I think people tend to forget that.
As for competing in his first main event, Chris Daukaus said he was surprised by the fight, after calling out a bunch of people after his last win and not getting any of them.
“I was really excited. I didn’t think I was actually going to get this opportunity, I called out a bunch of people, didn’t get any of them, but I got Derrick Lewis and I fully expect to grab this opportunity with both hands and take advantage of it.”
With a win over Lewis, Daukaus would be among a short-list of contenders at the top of the heavyweight division, and that’s not including Jon Jones who was recently involved in a domestic violence case earlier this Fall. While there’s no word on when Jones will step back inside the Octagon and compete, Daukaus said he believes Jones needs to get out of his own way and stop hurting his career.
“Obviously people want to see him fight, but he built up this whole mythological creature of Jon Jones being at heavyweight, at least let’s give him a fight to see how he does, if it’s really been worth it for Jon. He’s just gotta get out of his own way, he’s gotta stop being an idiot, he really just has to stop. I honestly think he’s surrounded by yes men and people who don’t care about him. They just let him do whatever the hell he wants and Jon’s not going to change. If you keep doing the same shit and nothing changes, you’re just going to keep doing it. That’s human nature.
I’m not holding my breath to see him come back any time soon. Everyone thought he was over all this before with DC [Daniel Cormier] and I just think that Jon Jones needs to get out of Jon Jones’ way. Obviously all the people that are around you are really bad for you and you just keep messing up and there’s no one to blame but himself, it just sucks.
There’s no telling if and when Jon Jones will compete in the heavyweight division, but regardless of Jones’ status, Chris Daukaus is preparing not only for an upcoming fight against Derrick Lewis but to also send a message to the top of the UFC’s heavyweight contenders.
