Introduction
Saturday, November 19th, American featherweight prospect Dennis Buzukja will be in action for Maverick MMA, where he will be looking continue his winning ways against Boimah Karmo. He will be looking for another win, as Buzukja looks to impress and score a contract with the UFC. He represents Longo and Weidman MMA, a respected camp in MMA. Let’s take a closer look at this prospect as this week’s “Prospect Spotlight.”
Strengths
Striking: Buzukja is a heavy-handed striker with good boxing skills and some solid Muay Thai. His kicks are solid, but his hands are really what I enjoy watching him use. In addition to a highlight reel spinning backfist knockout early in his pro career, he has a couple knockout wins. For the most part, he fights to a decision, which isn’t exactly endearing to the boss, Dana White. However, his striking is impressive and he does put on exciting fights.
Counter-Wrestling: As we saw in his most recent fight on the Contender Series with Kaleio Romero, Buzukja has solid counter-wrestling. Romero very badly wanted to wrestle Buzukja, as that’s his background, and Buzukja did a very good job of keeping distance and sprawling when Romero shot. When he defended, he also did a good job of getting back out of range once the takedown was defended.
Needs Improvement
Can Get Wild in Exchanges: While Buzukja is a good striker and is very successful on the feet, one of the things that can get him in some bad spots is getting in wild exchanges. While he will land in those exchanges, he will get clipped as well as his defenses lower when he gets wild with his punches. When he stays technical and disciplined, he’s hard to deal with, but when he gets wild, that is when things can get a little hairy.
Outlook
UFC Midcarder: Buzukja is still a young guy at 25 years old and is already this good, so I think he has quite the bright future. Under the guidance of Ray Longo and Matt Serra, Buzukja is getting top-notch training with high-level training partners. He’s already been on the UFC’s radar, seeing as he already gotten a Contender Series fight back in 2020. Since that loss on the 2020 Contender Series, Buzukja has gone 4-0 and has looked very good during this current win streak. Obviously, Dana White passed on him on this year’s Contender Series, but I know he will make the UFC roster at some point and make an impact.
MMA Intel 