Chris Daukaus issues statement after TKO loss to Curtis Blaydes at UFC on ESPN 33

Chris Daukaus is naturally disappointed about his loss to Curtis Blaydes at UFC on ESPN 33, but he said positive feedback is keeping his spirits up.

Daukaus (12-5 MMA, 4-2 UFC) suffered his second consecutive main event loss on Saturday when Blaydes (16-3 MMA, 11-3 UFC) stopped him by second-round TKO in the heavyweight bout, which took place at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.

After starting his octagon tenure with four-straight wins, Daukaus has struggled against upper tier competition. He was knocked out in the first round by Derrick Lewis in December, then was caught by Blaydes’ punches en route to another stoppage defeat.

Now Daukaus is suddenly sitting on back-to-back losses, and there’s going to be a lot of pressure to respond. Instead of drowning himself in the negative, though, Daukaus said he’s feeding off those trying to lift him up (via Twitter):

There’s always negativity from people after a loss, often we linger too long on that. I’m very appreciative for the people who have not done that and who have reached out with positivity. You guys are the best, especially @Boogerbeard1 @MacMallyMMA thank you.

— Chris Daukaus (@ChrisDaukausMMA) March 27, 2022

There’s always negativity from people after a loss, often we linger too long on that. I’m very appreciative for the people who have not done that and who have reached out with positivity. You guys are the best, especially @Boogerbeard1 @MacMallyMMA thank you.

How Daukaus, 32, opts to proceed with his career remains to be seen. Blaydes suggested post-fight that he should seriously consider dropping down to the light heavyweight division, because “not everyone is a heavyweight.” Daukaus weighed in at 243 pounds ahead of UFC on ESPN 33.