Dennis Buzukja Looks to Keep Serra-Longo Fight Team’s Hot Streak Alive | UFC Fight Pass
Carrying The Banner Of One Of The Winningest Gyms In MMA, Long Island’s Dennis Buzukja Looks To Continue LAW MMA’s Winning Ways At CFFC 120.
When Merab Dvalishvili was given the herculean task of going 25 minutes with former bantamweight champion Petr Yan, Merab won. When Matt Frevola walked into the Octagon as a sizeable underdog against seasoned veteran Drew Dober, Matt won. And when Aljamain Sterling headlined UFC 288 against Olympic gold medalist, and former UFC double-champ Henry Cejudo, Aljamain won.
All three of these men hail from leading mixed martial arts gym LAW MMA, and have established a hot streak that very few, if any, camps in the sport can match.
Up next, top lightweight prospect Dennis Buzukja. Following the guidance of coaches Ray Longo and Matt Serra, as well as a multitude of veteran UFC teammates, Dennis will look to be the next member of the Serra-Longo fight team to carry the flag to victory when he fights Soslan Abanokov at CFFC 120.
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“Energy is contagious and, at the end of the day, the team is on fire,” Dennis said. “Whatever we’re doing is working, and if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, so I’m just going to keep the streak going.”
Despite the recent success of the camp, Dennis still refutes the notion that LAW MMA is some sort of super gym. To him, it’s still just the local fight spot.
“At a lot of these bigger gyms, guys are already made coming there, and then it’s just like a hub for top fighters,” Buzukja said. “Serra-Longo is just the neighborhood guys who f------ work hard, know how to fight, are strong-minded, and we grind together to the top.”
So how is this team so successful? How does this gym comprised of “neighborhood guys” continuously put out top-tier UFC talent?
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Well, one could point to an advanced sense of camaraderie and togetherness within the team, and an extreme desire to see each other grow. There’s no selfishness on the Serra-Longo fight team. When one fighter succeeds, they’re immediately back in the gym to help their teammates win.
“We’re always there for each other. After my last fight I got right back in the gym, and I got right back into camp to help (Matt) Frevola for his fight. Naz (Nazim Sadykhov) won his fight, and he came back to help Frevola, too,” Dennis said. “Same thing with Aljo. After he beat TJ Dillashaw, he came back that Monday to work with me for my fight.”
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The culture is set in Long Island. You support your teammates constantly, and Dennis believes this culture pays off in the fights themselves.
“We’re just always there for each other,” he said. “We have a strong support system and a strong backing, and that gives us that extra little gear in the cage that a lot of these fighters don’t have.”
For Dennis, it’s easy to look at his more experienced teammates, and take strong inspiration for his own MMA journey. Aljamain Sterling made his debut at age 24, Al Iaquinta did at 25, and Matt Serra, Chris Weidman, and Merab Dvalishvili all entered the Octagon for the first time at 26.
For the 25-year-old Buzukja, his path through the regional ranks is closely aligning with the Serra-Longo team’s Octagon veterans.
“I think everything is just coming together at the right time,” he said. “I’ve been on the cusp of the UFC from a young age, so things are looking good. I think history repeats itself and I’m going to be next.”
