#2. Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida (ONE Championship record: 2-0)
Before his arrival in ONE Championship, Marcus Almeida has put together a legendary career in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu.
‘Buchecha’ has won 13 Brazilian jiu-jitsu world championships, which includes a record six in the openweight category. Former ONE light heavyweight world champion and Brazilian jiu-jitsu legend Roger Gracie previously held the record at three.
In his transition to MMA, he added some new weapons to his game, but ultimately stayed true to his nature of being an expert in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
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In his first two bouts in the promotion, he has already faced two strikers in kickboxing veteran Anderson Silva and rising star Kang Ji Won and defeated them both by submission in the first round.
Almeida’s bullishness in asserting Brazilian jiu-jitsu in his MMA bouts has earned criticism, but may actually be good for the sport. It gives fans a chance to see what MMA originally sought out to be, a battle between different disciplines of martial arts.
#1. Anatoly Malykhin (ONE Championship record: 2-0)
Anatoly Malykhin may be the most promising fighter to follow both in and out of the Circle.
The hulking Russian has finished all 10 of his professional bouts in a variety of ways and has proven that his wrestling and grappling are as fearsome as his fists.
In his first two bouts in ONE Championship, ‘Sladkiy’ knocked out both former ONE world title challenger Alexandre Machado and Iranian superstar Amir Aliakbari in the first round.
Meanwhile, outside of fighting, Malykhin’s Instagram account shows a totally different side to the ONE Championship heavyweight, as he posts silly skits and other entertaining content with his family.
The 34-year-old has previously shared that he understands that succeeding as a fighter is not only about winning matches, but also about winning the hearts of fans.
He may soon find himself wrapped in gold as he is set to face Kirill Grishenko for the ONE interim heavyweight world championship. He will no doubt be a force to reckon with in the division no matter the outcome of the match.