‘Buchecha’ believes his quick finishes are proof of his development in MMA

Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida has only spent a total of 8:50 inside the circle. In four professional mixed martial arts bouts, that averages out to an impressive 2:12 minutes per fight. While some contest that the quick nature of his finishes results in a lost opportunity to gain experience inside the circle, ‘Buchecha’ vehemently disagrees with that school of thought.

In a recent interview with ONE Championship, Almeida contended that his consistently quick finishes inside the circle prove that he is implementing all the skills he learned and perfected while training:

“There were four wins in the first round. It shows that I’m feeling good, that I’m doing the right training, and that I’m adapting well to MMA."

“Of course, many people think that I’m not gaining experience because my victories were quick. But on the contrary, it proves that I am managing to put into practice all the training I have been doing.”

With four first-round finishes in less than a year, it’s hard to argue with Marcus Almeida’s point. Particularly after his performance against one-time heavyweight world title challenger Kirill Grishenko. The Belarusian represented a significant step up in competition. Almeida responded to the challenge by delivering his fastest win yet, scoring a heel-hook submission just 64 seconds into the bout.

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‘Buchecha’ believes a heavyweight title opportunity is imminent

With four straight victories inside the circle, Marcus Almedia believes a crack at the ONE heavyweight world championship is just a matter of time. ‘Buchecha’ is happy to face any challenge ONE Championship puts in front of him, but with his brilliant rise in the circle so far, it’s just a matter of time before the promotion drops a world title fight contract on his lap:

“I have no one to challenge. But I am an employee of the company and the mission given to me I will be ready. I'm sure I'm getting closer to my goal, which is to fight for the title and win the belt. I have four fights and four wins.”

‘Buchecha’ continued, saying:

“Among the heavyweights, I'm the guy who's been fighting the most, so I'm on the right track. I'm sure I'll get this chance to fight for the belt soon.”

The heavyweight division still has a world title unification bout between Arjan Bhullar and Anatoly Malykhin to tend to, but when (and if) that gets resolved, ‘Buchecha’ may very well be the man waiting to challenge the winner.