'Dana White's Contender Series' vet set to make promotional debut at UFC Nashville after fighter pulls out due to visa issues
Dennis Buzukja is set to make his UFC debut at UFC Nashville on August 5. He will take on Sean Woodson in a featherweight bout.
Buzukja has previously competed on 'Dana White's Contender Series' (DWCS) and has two fights from the show on his professional record. He lost his fight against Melsik Baghdasaryan in 2020 and then won his second fight against Kaleio Romero in the 2022 edition of DWCS.
Buzukja replaces Mairon Santos at UFC Nashville after Santos encountered visa problems.
🚨🚨Fourth opponent🚨🚨
Mairon Santos is no longer fighting Sean Woodson (@STL_Sniper_314). Due to visa issues.
DWCS-veteran Dennis Buzukja (@DennisBuzukja) finally get's his chance in the UFC. He takes on Woodson at #UFCNashville. pic.twitter.com/TSuv5jtCZs
Dennis Buzukja is 25 years old and has racked up 13 professional fights across various promotions like Bellator, Ring of Combat, and Cage Fury Fighting Championship. He has 11 wins in those 13 fights with five finishes. He is in red-hot form and has won each of his seven fights since his 2020 loss on DWCS.
Sean Woodson is also an alumnus of DWCS and has five previous fights in the UFC. The 31-year-old has fought 11 times with nine wins, one draw, and one loss to his name.
UFC Nashville headliner Cory Sandhagen talks about a move up to featherweight
Cory Sandhagen is set to headline a third straight fight and will look for a similar result as his last two main events.
Sandhagen has beaten Yadong Song and Marlon Vera in back-to-back fights and was scheduled to fight Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC Nashville. However, the Russian suffered an injury and Sandhagen will now take on No.7-ranked contender Rob Font.
Ahead of his UFC Nashville fight, Sandhagen spoke about a potential move up to featherweight in an interview with SHAK MMA:
"I'd consider it [moving to featherweight]. I'd be undersized as a '45er. People think that I cut a ton of weight, but I really think I cut probably less than the normal, which is still a lot of weight, but probably less than normal. I'm built really narrow. A lot of guys, they're built stocky [with] wider hips, wider ribcage. I don't have that. I would go up to '45. I think that my frame is big enough for it... But as far as power goes, I think I'd be outpowered at 145."
Check out Cory Sandhagen's full interview on YouTube (2:22):