Kyle Daukaus expects to finish Jamie Pickett early and earn a ranked opponent next: “I don’t see him lasting very long”

Kyle Daukaus is glad he will still be fighting on Saturday at UFC Vegas 48.

Daukaus was originally set to face Julian Marquez but less than two weeks out, he was forced to withdraw from the fight. After hearing of the news, Daukaus asked the UFC to find him a replacement and they did just that as he will now take on Jamie Pickett at UFC Vegas 48, but the bout will be a 195lbs catchweight.

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“There was nobody right away that they offered me, I did throw out a couple of names to see if they were interested in fighting me,” Daukaus said on Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com. “Those guys had fights scheduled so the UFC came back and told me Jamie wanted to take the fight but it is at a catchweight. That is only the breaking news now, nobody knows that yet, it is at a 195lbs catchweight. No big deal, I’m very thankful he took the fight on 10 days’ notice.”

Given Daukaus only has 10 days to study up on Pickett, he says his gameplan doesn’t change much. He still plans to mix in his striking and wrestling but believes this is a better matchup for him and he will prove he is better everywhere.

“He’s a very good fighter, has a very good frame for the division,” Daukaus explained. “He uses his strikes very well, he doesn’t mix it up too much and he’s not very good off his back foot, we have seen that in two fights at least. I’ve been studying up on him and I think it’s a great matchup and I think i’m superior in all aspects of the fight.”

With Kyle Daukaus believing he’s better everywhere than Jamie Pickett, he believes the fight won’t last long. The goal for the Philadelphia native is to get an early takedown and get a TKO or submisison early into the fight.

“That first takedown that I get, if I get it, and I take him down and keep him down, I don’t see him lasting very long,” Daukaus explained. “I can kind of get a feeling that he will gas and it’s about me picking my shots and either TKO’ing him or submitting him early.”

Should Daukaus finish Pickett at UFC Vegas 48, he believes he should get a ranked opponent next. Daukaus is coming off the No Contest to Kevin Holland, in a fight he submitted the fan-favorite but was overturned due to an accidental head clash.

With that, Daukaus believes that proves he belongs with the best and hopes he can get a known name next time out.

“I have to have the mindet that this could be my last one even if it probably is not. I still have the same mindset that I have to go out there and win and prove that I am one of the top guys in the divison,” Daukaus concluded. “As long as I get a win and a finish, it shows I can finish a guy on a run in the UFC, if Julian wants to meet down the line, I’m welcome to that, if they want to give me a guy with a number beside their name I’m also fine with that. I’m not going to pick who I want to fight, whoever they offer me I will take it… I obviosuly would like to fight a guy with a number beside their name, I think I deserve that.”

Do you think Kyle Daukaus will beat Jamie Pickett at UFC Vegas 48?