Dennis Bermudez would beat Conor McGregor | Long Island MMA

On Saturday, September 27^th The Ultimate Fighting Championship held one if it’s most highly anticipated events in some time, UFC 178, in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event was filled with a title fight, the return of Cat Zigano and Dominick Cruz and the UFC debut of Eddie Alvarez. After all these great fights, one of the most talked about moments from UFC 178 is the Irishman Conor McGregor stopping Dustin Poirier in the first round. Before the fight there was a lot of back and forth between the two featherweights via twitter. After 1:46 of the first round and some good punching combinations, Herb Dean had seen enough calling a halt in the action. At the post fight interview UFC president Dana White said” The UFC has never seen anything like this”,” He is bigger than Brock Lesnar and George St. Pierre” when speaking about pay per view buys and ticket sales.   

With a lot of hype and a string of impressive victories over some of the division’s toughest competitors, what’s next for McGregor? I believe a great fight that would really solve the questions regarding the top tier of the UFC featherweight division would be putting him across the cage from fellow fan favorite “The Menace” Dennis Bermudez.  The Long Island MMA fighter Bermudez brings a full arsenal of high level skill whether standing or on the mat he is always a threat.

I believe with Bermudez’s endless gas tank and iron chin he would smother the Dublin native with constant pressure. The Menace’s striking game is always evolving looking crisper and more dangerous every time he steps inside the cage. We all have seen Bermudez in wars and see how he pushes through adversity, how he reacts in the deep end, when other men’s will breaks Dennis is just getting started. The main reason I believe after the fight Bermudez’s hand would be raised is old fashion pure American wrestling. Dennis was ranked 22^nd in the nation at the NCAA division 1 level, he then became a college free-style all- American in Akron, Ohio. Many fans might not be aware of this because most of his fans see him standing in the middle of the cage exchanging leather. There are many high level wrestlers in the division few can mix up their striking and grappling as seamlessly as Bermudez, he masks his takedowns leaving his opponents uncertain if he will be throwing strikes or taking a shot at a takedown. Another reason I believe Bermudez will have the upper hand is training. Dennis resides and trains in Long Island, New York home of some of the best fighters. He coaches and fights out of Long Island MMA in Farmingdale, NY alongside fellow UFC fighters Ryan LaFlare and Chris Wade as well as countless others.      

If this fight takes place after Bermudez is victories over Ricardo Lamas at UFC 180 I believe the winner will receive a title fight against the champion. After beating Lamas, according to UFC current rankings, that should catapult Bermudez into the top 3 of the division. I believe Conor ‘s striking although very effective in his past fights would not be a threat to Bermudez. “The notorious one” McGreggor stands 2 inches taller than Bermudez and his striking stance is a more erected stance, standing more straight up than traditional mma stance he shows his background in Karate.   While exchanging on his feet he also has a very wide stance leaving his lead leg out in front him. This will all play into what I believe is Bermudez’s strengths, with his quick head movement he will be able to get around punches and get in on the inside and right under McGreggor’s chin. In his past fight Bermudez has set up some of his most effective punching with chopping his opponents lead legs with powerful leg kicks. If Bermudez wants to take the fight to the mat, which is where I believe he would win this fight, I believe he will be able to take McGreggor down at will given his superior wrestling pedigree and his opponents stance.     

is Long Islands Chris Weidman the best fighter in the world? | Long Island MMA

Chris Weidman defeats Lyoto Machida to retain the UFC’s middleweight title at UFC 175. With a  big victory for Weidman, this win extends Chris’s unbeaten streak to twelve straight wins, with notable victories over top competitors such as Anderson Silva (twice) , Mark Munoz , Demian Maia , and of course Machida.

                Weidman, originally from Baldwin New York, has helped tremendously by putting New York MMA on the map alongside other top competitors from the island such as Ryan LaFlare, Dennis Bermudez, Matt Serra, and we also have many more up and comers that are on their way.

Weidman wrestled division 1 at Hofstra University where he became a two time division 1 All-American and took 3^rd in the NCAA tournament.  He quickly took to Jiu-Jitsu and progressed fast having come from a strong wrestling foundation. After just three professional fights Weidman took the Ring Of Combat middleweight belt by defeating Uriah Hall via strikes in the first round, an organization where many top pro fighters from the east coast find themselves competing before getting called to the big show, located in New Jersey.

                 Once Weidman got to the big show there was no stopping him and he began to rise up the rankings. After defeating Anderson ‘The Spider’ Silva to retain the UFC’s middleweight title, Chris was crowned with “ Knockout of the year” honors and the match was deemed  “Biggest upset of the year” as well. Quickly After Weidman was crowned the champion of the division people started to notice a trend within Long Island as other big names started making their way up the ladder , such as number 15 ranked and highly regarded welterweight prospect Ryan LaFlare who recently defeated TUF winner Court McGee and a dominant performance win over John ‘Doomsday’ Howard. Ryan is a Co-Owner of Long Island Mixed Martial Arts, another great school located in Long Island where a lot of highly regarded fighters are working their way towards the UFC or up the UFC rankings such as top featherweight contender Dennis ‘The menace’ Bermudez who is on a six fight unbeaten streak and takes on fellow contender Clay ‘The Carpenter’ Guida in an epic 145LB matchup. A Big win for Bermudez can catapult him high up the featherweight rankings and can help the Long Islander work towards a potential title shot.

With so many big names coming out of Long island it is hard to deny that New York is a breeding ground for MMA fighters. With so many top school around the state and Island, anyone that puts the time and effort into training will undoubtedly excel in the sport, being taught by the right coaches and having the right team around them.

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