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Dennis Buzukja Welcomes UFC Competition
Riding A Seven-Fight Win Streak, And Coming Off A Highlight-Reel CFFC Victory, Dennis Buzukja Is Confident In How He Stacks Up Against Active UFC Talent.
Dennis Buzukja is no stranger to testing his skills against top-tier UFC talent. A staple of the Serra-Longo fight team, Buzukja consistently gets rounds in with the likes of Aljamain Sterling, Merab Dvalishvili, and Matt Frevola.
Given this experience, Buzukja isn’t exactly starstruck at the potential of taking fights against active UFC fighters.
“Honestly, on my best day I really feel like I can beat anybody at 145 and 155 in the world,” Buzukja said. “Of course, you have guys like Arman, Islam, Oliveira, Volk, Holloway, and Ilia, who I would really need to prepare for, but I think otherwise I beat anybody else.”
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This is not just talk for Buzukja, either. Riding a seven-fight win streak, and coming off back-to-back finishes inside two rounds, he’s already received short-notice calls from the UFC and has his money where his mouth is.
“I just had a weird feeling something was going to happen. I was training for it,” Buzukja said.
“Movsar’s team ended up taking Diego, they thought he was a better matchup, I guess. That would have been amazing to have been on that card.”
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Even though the fight didn’t end up happening, the sheer principle of Buzukja’s willingness to make his UFC debut on short notice against an undefeated, top ten fighter is a true emphasis of his confidence.
“It’s a scary fight, tough fight on four days’ notice,” Buzukja said. “My skills are there, I’m 25, I’m only getting better every fight. I trust my skills, my team trusts my skills, they know I’m ready for anyone in the world, and I will be world champ one day.”
Weeks after the Evloev situation unfolded, Buzukja accepted another short notice fight, this time against Joanderson Brito. The potential bout would have been just two weeks after Buzukja’s CFFC fight, but he was still ready to go.
“That’s why I started a little bit slow in the fight; I did get the finish, but I was ready to fight Joanderson two weeks later,” Buzukja said. “They ended up signing Westin Wilson and he got flatlined. I told (Sean) Shelby I’m training hard, keeping my weight low, and once the call comes, I’m going to be ready to put on a show.”
With opportunities to take on established UFC fighters like Evloev and Brito failing to come to fruition, Buzukja had his sights set on an old foe --- Melsik Baghdasaryan. The two faced off on season four of Dana White’s Contender Series, and Baghdasaryan walked away with a split decision victory.
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Since the Contender Series bout, Melsik has gone on to become a four-fight Octagon veteran, and Buzukja is eyeing a rematch inside the UFC.
“I want that Melsik one back. I was literally sick with COVID, my shoulder was shot, my nerves shut down in my shoulder that fight,” Buzukja said. “I was 22. I went in there and arguably won, a lot of people thought I won the second and third. So, I do feel like that’s definitely one I can get back.”
From Evloev to Brito to Baghdasaryan, there’s no shortage of names on the Dennis Buzukja hit list. After seven straight victories, he’s on high alert for a short notice call from the UFC, and he’ll have plenty of opponents to call out if the phone rings.
And it did.
This week, Buzukja accepted a short notice call to make his UFC debut this Saturday against Sean Woodson at UFC Nashville.
Get caught up on all his past performances on UFC FIGHT PASS!
UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs Font took place live from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee on August 5, 2023. See the Final Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
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