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Chris Daukaus (12-4, 11 finishes) returns to the octagon Saturday for his second consecutive Fight Night headliner as he faces Curtis Blaydes (15-3, 10 finishes) as heavyweights once again top the bill for the UFC’s return to Columbus, Ohio. The former Philadelphia police officer recently joined the Post Fight Interview with The Post’s Scott Fontana.
Q: What has work/life been like now that it’s been a few months since you officially resigned as a police officer?
A: Personal life: It’s been really good, especially with the wife and my son. My son absolutely loves me being home all the time. … I don’t have to worry about missing a training session or missing a lifting session because of work or any kind of events happening in the city.
Q: What skills from your previous career help you in your fighting career?
A: It’s just dealing with that anxiety and that pressure. It’s more of, I would say, the mental aspect of the sport than the actual physical aspects of the sport. You’re thinking about this event in eight to 10 weeks, and then it’s getting closer and closer. A lot of people can’t deal with that anxiety and that anticipation of performing when all eyes are on you. It’s a lot for some people, and with my previous career, all eyes were on me all the time, no matter what I was doing.
Q: Were you surprised to be scheduled for another main event so soon after your first, coming off the knockout loss to Derrick Lewis in December?
A: Yeah. I honestly didn’t expect that. In my mentality, the UFC gave me an opportunity to main event. I lost, obviously, in dramatic fashion. And I figured that I would not be seeing any kind of main event or co-main event status for a while until I got a few wins under my belt back in the division. But apparently, the UFC has different plans.
Q: Beyond the obvious, what went wrong against Lewis?
A: it was strictly my mistake as far as allowing myself to get backed up against the cage. There was no outside contributing factors in my personal life. And [in] my training camp, there were no injuries or anything like that. There was no added pressure with the main event status, the extra cameras that were following me around, that was fine. I can drown all that out in my head, and that’s not going to play a factor. And really, it was just a mistake on my part in my tactics. I needed to get smarter in my defense, and Derrick Lewis capitalized on that.
Q: What sort of emotions and thoughts go through your head in the days and weeks after a knockout?
A: It’s really horrible, to be honest with you. You start second guessing everything. You start second guessing, especially … That was the first fight after leaving the police department, so there’s obviously that doubt that crept in my head about, you know, I just left my job. I just left my career of 10 years to go pursue this. And I get flatlined on the first go around. It’s that doubt that you have of, am I really good enough to sustain myself in the UFC? Should I have not quit my job. It’s just all big what ifs, and it’s just that self-doubt. But I dealt with that. I got myself back. I stayed in that dark spot for a little bit because I don’t want to feel that again, and I don’t want to just brush that off like it was a fluke or anything like that, or he got lucky. No. He beat me. That’s what he does, and I have to accept that. And I accepted that, and I moved on. I was in that dark spot for a little bit, and it was tough, man. It was really tough. I lost all kinds of motivation just to get back into the gym a little bit. There’s some days where I just didn’t want to do anything, man. It was just really bad. But I got through it. I was there. I accepted the fact, and now I’m ready to go.
Q: You’re known for your power striking, but you’re a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt as well? Do you feel more dangerous standing or grappling?
A: My confidence in both skill sets are pretty much equal. I just haven’t really shown the ground game. And to be honest, it’s not like I can’t take it to the ground. I just really like punching people in the face.
Q: Did you and your brother Kyle, a UFC middleweight, get into many fights with each other growing up?
A: All the time. … I was bigger, but I was just fat, so I’d just get on top of him and just sit on top of him, and he’d cry. When he was younger, when he was like 5 or 6, I’d be doing that. So I was like 8 or 9.
Q: What is the perfect Philly cheesesteak order?
A: You’ve got to go to Steve’s [Prince of Steaks]. I like Whiz without. So it’s Cheez Whiz without fried onions. But I also do American [cheese] without. I’ll do onions; it’s not my first choice. … Whiz without, spicy fries with a side of cheese and a root beer. That’s the go-to for me.
Q: You can fight anyone in history. Who do you pick?
A: I’ll either fight Abe Lincoln — and my reasoning behind that is he’s a taller guy, longer reach, it’d be interesting to try and get in on him, and apparently Abe Lincoln was a really good wrestler, so, I would also like to test myself against that. And also Teddy Roosevelt because Teddy Roosevelt was a boxer and all that. He apparently boxed in the White House, so I would definitely like to test myself against that guy.
Q: Teddy Roosevelt also was known to have trained in judo.
A: Really? Well then, Teddy Roosevelt just went to No. 1 over Abe Lincoln.
Q: What’s the coolest technique in combat sports?
A: I like throws, man, like judo throws off the cage. Those are really good, and foot trips as well, foot sweeps.
Q: Is there a great MMA movie?
A: No. No. I mean, the premise behind the “Never Back Downs,” the premise is OK. but it’s just bad acting and bad fight scenes. “Warrior,” the premise behind that “Warrior” movie [is] a little crazy, the whole fighting two nights in a row. That wouldn’t happen.
Q: Favorite movie?
A: “Shaun of the Dead” and “Hot Fuzz.”
Q: Favorite song?
A: I don’t really have one. I like jazz because it reminds me of my grandfather.
Q: Favorite video game?
A: I’ll tell you what video game I hate: I hate God damn “Elden Ring.” I’m playing that right now, and that thing is the worst game in the world. But [my] favorite video games: I like “Mario Party” or “Mario Kart.”
Q: What’s a perfect day for you that doesn’t involve fighting?
A: It’s either going to Disney World with my family and waking up, going to the parks, enjoying it, eating, going to Epcot, drinking, having a good time riding rides. Or going down the shore, hanging out on the beach all day, watching my son go in the ocean, building sandcastles and going out to the boardwalk, playing games, like the quarter games with my wife. We’re super competitive.
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