UNIONDALE, N.Y. – Of the five fighters who were making their professional MMA debut on the preliminary card at Bellator 208, Dennis Buzukja stood out among the bunch.

First, Buzukja turned heads more so than the four others because he walked to the cage joined by a notable trio of cornerman in Ray Longo, UFC Hall of Famer Matt Serra and UFC lightweight contender Al Iaquinta.

Buzukja (1-0 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) didn’t need much advice from the Team Serra-Longo coaches, though. He needed less than three minutes to steamroll opponent Ryan Castro (0-2 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) with a devastating striking performance before finishing the featherweight bout by TKO.

“I felt bad for the other guy,” Longo told MMAjunkie post-fight at Bellator 208. “He was out on his feet for a while. Dennis has been with us about three or four years. He looked very calm in there. Only had about five or six amateur fights before getting in there.”

At 21, Buzukja has the potential to have a bright future in the sport given his debut performance. He not only appears to have the physical tools to succeed, but Serra said he has the correct attitude and dedication toward the sport, which he first noticed during his initial interactions with Buzukja years ago.

“Dennis is a really good kid,” Serra said. “Let me tell you about Dennis: Dennis came from Staten Island to my school in Long Island. It’s a little bit of a trip – it’s not right down the block. At my jiu-jitsu school, if you want to fight, I make everyone at my school wear the gi until they get four stripes on their belt. He did not try to cut the line, did not try to work with the pros right away and try to get his gi off. He stayed on that side of the room, he got his four stripes and that’s the kind of mentality he had. He didn’t do any short-cuts. He’s a young kid, but he’s got a bright, bright future.”

Iaquinta, who according to Serra has becoming something of a mentor to Buzukja, called his training partner “very good” and excitedly said “he killed it” when describing the victory at Bellator 208.

Time will only tell how a potential blue-chip prospect in the sport will shake out, but Serra said all the pieces are in place for Buzukja to become something special.

“He’s putting people away,” Serra said. “Al Iaquinta is very close with him and has pretty much taken him under his wing, so I think we’ve got a future champ in the making.”

For complete coverage of Bellator 208, check out the MMA Events section of the site.