LI's Dennis Buzukja booked for UFC 295 at Madison Square Garden against Jamall Emmers
Dennis Buzukja poses for a portrait at LAW MMA on Monday, July 11, 2022 in Garden City. Credit: Dawn McCormick
Dennis Buzukja received but a few days to get ready to make his UFC debut last month. Not a lot of time, for sure, but also not uncommon for up-and-coming fighters getting their first shot in the top mixed martial arts promotion.
Now, though, for his second UFC fight, the Merrick resident has quite a few weeks to sharpen his skills, gradually come down in weight and be in peak conditioning.
Buzukja will face Jamall Emmers in a featherweight bout at UFC 295 at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 11, 2023. The pay-per-view card will be headlined by heavyweight champion Jon Jones making his first title defense (and his first fight at MSG) against former champ Stipe Miocic.
Buzukja is one of three Longo and Weidman MMA fighters to make their UFC debuts this year, joining Charlie Campbell and Nazim Sadykhov. Fellow LAW teammate Charalampos Grigoriou earned a UFC contract last month on "Dana White's Contender Series," while another teammate Dylan Mantello gets his turn Tuesday night.
Buzukja (11-3) lost by unanimous decision to Sean Woodson in his UFC debut on Aug. 5. Before that, the Staten Island-raised Buzukja had won seven straight.
Emmers (19-7) is 2-3 in the UFC, with his most recent fight being a split-decision loss to Jack Jenkins last June.
Mark La Monica is a deputy sports editor at Newsday. He also covers mixed martial arts.
