A fight originally attached to this week’s UFC 289 in Vancouver has found a new date.
Making his light heavyweight debut, Chris Daukaus (12-6) will face Khalil Rountree Jr. (11-5, 1NC) as part of the UFC’s August 12, 2023 Fight Night card.
UFCStats.com, the promotion’s official stats tracker, added the bout to the Aug. 12 card recently.
Daukaus will be looking to shake off a trio of losses in the fight, which saw him finished by hard-hitters in Derrick Lewis, Jair Rozenstruik, and Curtis Blaydes. Prior to that losing streak, Daukaus had started his UFC tenure on a 4-0 run that included three consecutive Performance of the Night bonuses.
A step up in competition is where Daukaus stalled, however, and as a somewhat undersized heavyweight, he’s now making the move to 205lbs.
Khalil Rountree Jr. flirted with retirement a few years back, but has turned things around nicely, winning his last three fights. “The War Horse” trains with Tiger Muay Thai in Thailand, and is coming off a split decision victory over Dustin Jacoby last October.
Rountree also holds notable wins over kickboxing star Gokhan Saki, former LFA champ Eryk Anders, and Scotland’s Paul Craig.
The UFC’s August 12 Fight Night event is expected to be headlined by welterweight action, as former 155lb champ Rafael dos Anjos faces fellow Brazilian Vicente Luque. The following match-ups have been reported for the card to date:
- Vicente Luque vs. Rafael dos Anjos
- Lando Vannata vs. Mike Breeden
- Polyana Viana vs. Iasmin Lucindo
- Montserrat Ruiz vs. Jaqueline Amorim
- Tafon Nchukwi vs. A.J. Dobson
- Chris Daukaus vs. Khalil Rountree Jr.
