A battle between surging middleweight contenders has been added to the UFC’s May slate.
Multiple people with knowledge of the promotion’s plans confirmed to MMA Fighting that a matchup between Phil Hawes and Kyle Daukaus will take place at the UFC’s event on May 8. The card takes place at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas and stream on ESPN+.
Hawes enters the contest on a six-fight winning streak, including 2-0 start in the UFC. The 32-year-old made the most of his octagon debut after earning a contract on Dana White’s Contender Series and delivered an 18-second KO of Jacob Maljoun at UFC 254 in October. “Megatron” followed that up with majority decision win over Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Vegas 19 in February.
Daukaus will look to get his second octagon victory after defeating Dustin Stoltzfus in November at UFC 255 via unanimous decision. The former CFFC champion dropped his short notice promotional debut to Brendan Allen in a close decision in June 2019, which was the first loss of his pro career.
The UFC’s May 8 event will be headlined by a bantamweight tilt between Cory Sandhagen and former champion T.J. Dillashaw.
