Interview: Kyle Daukaus says ‘Everybody needs to agree on one ruleset’

UFC middleweight Kyle Daukaus weighed in on the recent discussion surrounding illegal blows, eye pokes and no contests in a 15-minute remote interview with Fight Night Picks’ John Hyon Ko.

The rules have emerged as a hot topic in MMA circles after Petr Yan was disqualified from his bantamweight title fight with Aljamain Sterling for an illegal knee to a grounded opponent. A week later, Leon Edwards’ fight with Belal Muhammed was ruled a no contest after an eye poke.

“In my honest opinion, I’m a fan of 12-6 elbows. I like knees to the face on the ground. I think it’s just another thing you have to worry about,” Daukaus said. “Soccer kicks and what not, why not? I’m going to get kneed standing; I’m going to get punched and kicked standing. Why not have the same thing happen on the ground?”

Most importantly, Daukaus said every state and country needs to adopt the same ruleset, noting the confusion when different venues have different regulations. As for eye pokes, Daukaus said there’s not much that can be done.

“Those are just freak accidents,” he said.

Daukaus, who is coming off a decision win over Dustin Stoltzfus — his first UFC victory — is scheduled to fight UFC debutant Aliaskhab Khizriev (13-0) on the main card of UFC on ABC 2 on April 10.

“I used to sit upstairs with my grandma watching ABC on TV,” Daukaus said. “Now I’m going to be fighting on there. It’s crazy.”

As is usually the case for the 6-foot-3 Daukaus, he will hold the size advantage against the 5-9 Khizriev. Daukaus discussed the advantages and disadvantages of being the long and lanky fighter, including how he’s able to get lower and wider in his stance to add more power to his strikes.

He even predicted the result of his third UFC fight: a second-round TKO.

“I’m going to pressure him. He’s going to get tired and gas,” Daukaus explained. “I don’t think he’s going to have an answer for anything I’m bringing into the cage.”