Amid the cage, heavy bags and mats, those bigger-than-life posters loom.
“At least twice a week, I walk in the gym. I'll be like, ‘Ray! Ray!’ and I'll point to them and I'm like, ‘I'm next,’ ” Dennis Buzukja said. “At least twice a week.”
On the east wall at Longo and Weidman MMA in Garden City hang the images of those who fought their way into the UFC. The gym’s champions, of which there are three, get their own row atop the others.
With the immortals hovering above, young men and women push their bodies beyond limits they didn’t know existed, all in the hopes of solidifying their place on the wall.
“Ray Longo put those guys up on the wall for a reason,” Dylan Mantello said. “Just to be in consideration of being in that group of guys, that’s something I strive for.”
Mantello, from Sayville, and Merrick’s Buzukja (by way of Staten Island) are two of the half-dozen fighters at LAW MMA on the cusp of making it on the wall . . . and beyond. There’s also East Rockaway’s Charlie Campbell, West Hempstead’s Justin Montalvo, Queens’ Damion Nelson and Massapequa's Nazim Sadykhov (by way of Brooklyn).
“It is motivation seeing these guys, knowing that I bleed with them, I sweat with them,” Buzukja said. “It's definitely like a confidence boost knowing that I'm in there sweating with these guys like Aljo [Sterling] and Merab [Dvalishvili] and Al [Iaquinta]. Then it is also a wake-up call, like this is real.”
These are that next wave, the next “guys from the neighborhood” as trainer Ray Longo always likes to say of his fighters, that we may see in the UFC or Bellator sooner than later.
Three of them — Buzukja, Campbell and Sadykhov — may attach the big three letters to their names this summer. They each are scheduled to fight on Dana White’s Contender Series, a show where fighters compete to win and impress the UFC president enough to earn a fight contract. In the show’s six U.S. seasons, 145 contracts have been awarded, including Sean O’Malley, Maycee Barber and LAW MMA teammate Matt Frevola.
Dennis Buzukja has three first-round finishes. Charlie Campbell has three straight finishes. Nazim Sadykhov has five stoppage wins, including three first-round knockouts. Credit: Dawn McCormick
“Three fights, three contracts,” Sadykhov said about him and his teammates. “That’s how it’s going to be.”
Sadykhov (6-1) fights Ahmad Suhail Hasanzada on the Aug. 16 show. Buzukja (7-2) kicks off the run on July 26 against Kaleio Romero, and Campbell (6-1) follows him on Aug. 2 against Chris Duncan.
“We're starting to digest it because we know that we've been putting the work in and we are right there,” Campbell said. “We’re so close we can taste it.”
Buzukja fought on the Contender Series two summers ago and gutted through a decision loss to Melsik Baghdasaryan — with lingering effects from a debilitating bout with COVID-19 that began months earlier. This time, Buzukja says he’s healthy and ready to handle what he called “just business” inside the octagon.
Long Island first landed on the MMA map in 2007 when East Meadow’s Matt Serra knocked out Georges St-Pierre at UFC 69 in what remains the biggest upset in UFC history. Baldwin’s Chris Weidman knocked out Anderson Silva in 2013 to win middleweight gold. Uniondale’s Aljamain Sterling deepened the Island’s foothold when he became bantamweight champion in 2021 and then solidified it a year later.
Generations come quicker in MMA than in real life. Another one is brewing. When the UFC first held an event on Long Island in 2017, there were nine local fighters in the promotion. Six of them fought at Nassau Coliseum that year. With the UFC at UBS Arena on Saturday, there are seven Long Islanders on the roster, but none fighting on this card.
This group has grown up together in the gym. They’re all in their 20s and have shared the time, sweat and emotions of the daily grind of MMA.
Four of Dylan Mantello's wins have been finishes. Justin Montalvo has two first-round and two second-round knockouts. Damion Nelson won his first three pro fights. Credit: Dawn McCormick
“Each time one of us breaks down a barrier, the next guy is coming right in behind him to break down the next barrier,” said Mantello (5-2), who fights for Eagle FC run by former UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
That mentality helps fuel each other. And working together, as well as with already established UFC fighters makes it seem attainable.
“Sometimes it kind of feels like I am so close because I train with these guys,” said Nelson (3-1). “It's pretty much tangible. And sometimes I'm like, ‘Yo, I'm literally standing next to Ray Longo and I'm training with Aljamain Sterling and I'm training with Matt Serra and Chris Weidman.' But, then you have times where you just feel like it's so close, but it's so far.”
In those moments, Nelson and others can look to Montalvo, once known in the gym simply as “The Kid” because he was still in high school when he was sparring with world champions. Montalvo (5-0) already fought his way into a multi-fight contract with Bellator after two strong performances for the promotion on one-fight deals. He was supposed to fight this month, but an injury sidelined him for the next four months. But he’s looked impressive in his bouts and has Longo working on a new wall for him and fighters in other promotions and disciplines.
“It’s such a unique energy,” Campbell said. “It's so exciting to be in the seat with them, at pretty much the exact same point in our careers, just on the brink of getting in the big show.”
Dennis Buzukja
Hometown: Staten Island
Lives: Merrick
Gym: Longo and Weidman MMA
Division: Featherweight
Age: 24
Record: 7-2
Nickname: “The Great”
Next fight: July 26 vs. Kaleio Romero on Dana White’s Contender Series
Charlie Campbell
Hometown: East Rockaway
Gym: Longo and Weidman MMA
Division: Featherweight
Age: 27
Record: 6-1
Nickname: “The Cannibal”
Next fight: Aug. 2 vs. Chris Duncan on Dana White’s Contender Series
Dylan Mantello
Hometown: Sayville
Gym: Longo and Weidman MMA
Division: Lightweight
Age: 29
Record: 5-2
Nickname: “The Quiet Man”
Next fight: TBD
Justin Montalvo
Hometown: West Hempstead
Gym: Longo and Weidman MMA
Division: Lightweight
Age: 26
Record: 5-0
Nickname: “Kid Marvelous”
Next fight: TBD with Bellator
Damion Nelson
Hometown: Queens
Gym: Longo and Weidman MMA
Division: Featherweight
Age: 29
Record: 3-1
Nickname: “Dynamite”
Next fight: TBD
Nazim Sadykhov
Hometown: Brooklyn
Lives: Massapequa
Gym: Longo and Weidman MMA
Division: Lightweight
Age: 28
Record: 6-1
Nickname: “Black Wolf”
Next fight: Aug. 16 vs. Ahmad Suhail Hasanzada on Dana White’s Contender Series
NEXT NEXT
Right now, these fighters are either amateurs or recently turned pro. According to area coaches and trainers, a few years down the road, you may see some of these names with Long Island connections on the big shows’ fight cards:
Mike Curiel
Anthony Dilemme
Austin Halik
Adam Livingston
Steve Lee
Jacob Martin
Tom Picciano
Nick Piccininni
Mark La Monica is a deputy sports editor at Newsday. He also covers mixed martial arts.