Talk about delivering the violence in your UFC debut? Marcio Barbosa did just that, needing just 80 seconds to put away Dennis Buzukja in the featured UFC Winnipeg prelim.
Buzukja tried to bring the pressure right away, working his jab as he took the center, mixing low kicks. Buzukja continued to come forward, but Barbosa didn’t appear to be backing down.
As Buzukja looked to come forward with his boxing, he left himself wide open on a miss. Barbosa took advantage, landing a left hand from hell that slept Buzukja for the quick and impressive victory.
Marcio Barbosa Sends Dennis Buzukja To Shadow Realm At UFC Winnipeg
Barbosa improves to 18-2, having now won six straight and eight of his last nine. Barbosa earned a contract on Dana White’s Contender Series, knocking out Damon Wilson.
Buzukja is now just 1-4 in the UFC. This was his first fight back since serving a suspension for an altercation with a fan at UFC 310.
The Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) has issued a nine-month suspension and $2,500 fine to UFC fighter Dennis Buzukja, a teammate of bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili’s, following a physical altercation with a fan at UFC 310 this past December.
Buzukja must also pay an additional $157.04 in attorney fees as part of the disciplinary action.
Video footage showed Dvalishvili confronting the fan after the individual grabbed his arm and verbally accosted him as he returned to the locker room.
Security intervened, but before tensions could fully de-escalate, Buzukja was seen throwing punches at the fan. The incident quickly went viral on social media, leading to scrutiny from the NAC.
Merab Dvalishvili got into ANOTHER altercation with a fan after Aljamain Sterling’s loss at #UFC310 😬
Following the incident, Dvalishvili clarified that the fan had instigated the exchange by falsely claiming he was part of Umar Nurmagomedov’s team. The accusation carried weight, as Dvalishvili was preparing to fight Nurmagomedov at UFC 311.
The commission’s decision to suspend and fine Buzukja highlights its zero-tolerance policy on athlete-fan altercations. This follows a similar incident involving Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 300, reinforcing the message that such behavior will not be tolerated, regardless of the circumstances.
While Buzukja’s suspension is set to expire on Sept. 6, 2025, he has an opportunity to reduce it to six months. If he completes approved community service in Nevada, he could be reinstated as early as June 6.
This conditional reprieve reflects the NAC’s dual approach — punishing misconduct while also providing a path for fighters to demonstrate accountability and rehabilitate their public image.
Dennis Buzukja has been suspended nine months by the NSAC for his #UFC310 altercation with a crowd member. His suspension can be decreased to six months, through community service. He's also been fined $2,500 and will have to pay an additional $157.04 in legal fees.
On his The Weekly Scraps Podcast, Aljamain Sterling looked to recap his recent fight at UFC 310 this past weekend. In his second fight at featherweight, the former bantamweight champion lost a close decision to Movsar Evloev who now occupies the #4-ranking at 145-pounds.
Though his prelim bout with the undefeated Russian certainly delivered, there was another major talking point regarding Sterling’s team. His long-time training partner and coach, the bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili, got into a heated exchange with a member of the audience inside the T-Mobile Arena.
Buzukja, who last fought in the UFC this past August, detailed his side of the story during the podcast.
“I don’t know if he had touched Merab as we were walking in, but somehow he got Merab’s attention and then Merab went and tapped his shoulder and just gave him the finger and then the guy gave him the finger back or whatever, he got all jumpy.
“Then as the fight finished and we’re walking back on the other side, this f****** guy comes across the whole crowd and then goes and, you’ve seen the video, he grabs Merab’s arm and then says something to him in, I guess Russian or whatever he said, and Merab started going crazy. Then we got into a little physical altercation, but that was really it. So hopefully no charges pressed and we move on.”
Buzukja went on to say that he had first got involved in the confrontation to dry and diffuse the situation but that quickly changed once he was assaulted.
“I went and approached him and I just put his hand down, I was trying to deescalate and tell him, ‘Yo, calm down, bro. Relax.’ Merab was going away, I just wanted to tell him to relax, have some respect. Then he cracked me first, actually, he cracked me with a nice little left hook and then it was just instinct to hit him back. Then security came in, but part of me is like, ‘Should I just drop the bucket and just jump over and start swinging?’ Just go full, f****** degenerate, but I’m glad it didn’t happen that way.”
