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17-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion and ONE Championship heavyweight MMA fighter Marcus 'Buchecha' Almeida recently spoke about his mindset every time he gets into his matches. To normal people, entering a contest on the world stage where you'll have to fight another human trained to kill you is an inconceivable thought.
To 'Buchecha', however, it's not entirely impossible to deal with such a mountainous task - all you have to do is overcome the negative thoughts inside your head.
Almeida posted about this on his Instagram account:
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In the video, Almeida said:
"'Okay, why are you doing this?' It's not because of my master, it's not because of my parents, it's not because of my friends, it's not because of my team, not because of my flag, no. It's because of me. I choose to put myself in this spot... I put myself outside my comfort zone because I want to put myself [there] because I know... I was going after my dreams. 'I want to be here. I want to do this. I want to feel this energy. I want to feel this nervous."
'Buchecha' continued':
"At first I was scared to lose. I'm scared [of] the new guy to beat me up. I have so many fears but after having this conversation with myself, it really starts changing."
'Buchecha' lists his 2016 IBJJF Absolutes Finals win "one of the most special titles of my career"
Speaking of a positive mindset, this was on full display when Almeida recently posted about his historic win over Erberth Santos at the final match of the Absolutes openweight category at the 2016 IBJJF World Jiu-jitsu Championships. It was perhaps the most exciting come-from-behind world title win of his grappling career.
Here's the post:
"It wasn’t just the celebration of another Absolute World title, it was much more than that, it was me banishing once and for all the ghosts of doubt that I would go back to being the same Buchecha I was before the surgery, it was the certainty that everything I went through it was worth it, it was me once again making history and not telling it! 2016 is the year of Return, certainly one of the most special titles of my career."
This was the World Championship where Almeida's close friend, rival and training partner, the late great Leandro Lo, forfeited his slot in the Absolutes division so his fellow legend could compete in the finals. It wasn't just about snatching a 6th world title or conquering the Absolutes division for the first time in his career. The win solidified the bond between two great martial artists that transcended wins, medals or world titles.
