Chris Dawkos and Kyle Dakos are not the first pair of brothers to double-double into the official UFC rankings, but their excellent performance over the past few months has made them the most talked about MMA bro pair at present.
Just a week after Chris beat Shamir Abdul Rakimov in the second leg of UFC 266 and scored the "Best Performance" bonus, Kyle staged a wonderful showdown with Kevin Holland, but the match ended in nowhere.
Although the rematch between the two was cancelled for unexpected reasons, Chris brought good news: he will lead his first headline game in the octagon cage at the UFC Fighting Night event on December 19, against two-time former heavyweight champion challenger Derrick Lewis.
While the brothers are becoming famous in their respective weights, they still work closely together like a team, which is a fine tradition they have maintained throughout their careers.
We were always close together, but we weren't like that when we were in school. Chris was 4 grades older than me, so by the time I got into high school, he had already graduated from high school, so we never shared anything in school, whether it was friends or anything else. But as we started our careers and were working on the same sport, we started working together like a team, which helped us a lot.
But the age gap has had some impact. When Chris made his career debut in 2013, Kyle waited until 2017 to play as an amateur MMA player, and the brothers were in heavyweight and middleweights, with a weight gap of a full 80 pounds.
But as their careers progressed, the brothers discovered that the benefits of working together were not limited to physical and technical aspects, but also psychologically became each other's backbone.
The brothers are together and we can talk to each other about anything, from the game to the feelings of media events. You don't have to go through everything alone, but you can rely on each other, and we communicate what works for him and what works for me, and it's a really great feeling.
We live in the same neighborhood and are together almost every time we walk, except when the two of us are in two places. You can have a great team of supporters or a couple of great roommates, but the feeling is completely different from that of a brother. Whether it's in difficulty or in training, my brother knows exactly what you're going through and how you really feel, which is something I'll cherish forever.
If you look at the brothers' professional resumes, they never played too long, usually a few weeks after one person finished playing, and the other's game would follow. The two said it was a tacit tactical fit between them, which allowed them to help each other, and no matter what the outcome of the game, one person would immediately throw themselves into the preparation of the other after the game.
When I finished the game, I would immediately go back to the boxing gym to help Chris prepare, and so did he. The two of us trained together, not only as each other's coaches, but also as a platform for each other in the game.
In addition, this arrangement also allows us to compete with each other a lot, because our competitions are often only a few weeks apart. During training, we would yell at each other and get angry at each other, but in the end, it would only make our relationship better.
The rivalry between our brothers is always there, whether it's wrestling or jiu-jitsu, no matter what we're doing, there's always that kind of brotherly competition. But we don't have any ill will to win over each other, just to make the other person better. And in the process, my own strength will also increase.
Since Chris has an advantage in age and weight, Kyle is always at a disadvantage in his daily training and matches. But he wasn't without his advantages, at least in some respects he always outperformed his brother.
A mile running time, I was always better than him on this project. In other ways, I've accepted the fact that I didn't have a chance to win him, but I've never lost when it comes to running. Maybe he'll have a slight lead in the first 100 feet, but after that, he has no chance of winning.
At present, the brothers have signed a second contract with the UFC, and their journey at the UFC will continue. But no matter which of them you see walks into the octagon, the other half must be standing for him not far away. This has been going on for 11 years and is likely to continue throughout the brothers' careers.
| december 19 UFC Las Vegas 45
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