‘Buchecha’ daps it up with Demian Maia at IBJJF Worlds

Brazilian Jiujitsu legends Marcus 'Buchecha' Almeida and Demian Maia were seen bumping into each other at the 2023 IBJJF World Championships this week. Attending Jiujitsu's longest-running and largest world championship tournament, the two bonafide icons took photos together with other BJJ icons.

'Buchecha' posted the photo in his Instagram stories:

Buchecha's photo with Demian Maia

Demian Maia is one of the most successful BJJ specialists to fight in MMA. Before having a stellar career in the UFC, Maia was a former 2-time ADCC world champion and former Pan American Jiujitsu Champion. The 45-year-old icon is a 5th-degree Blackbelt and has helped bring Brazilian Jiujitsu to the mainstream consciousness.

As for 'Buchecha', the 17-time Jiujitsu world champion is considered to be the most accomplished submission grappler of all time. His accomplishments in his competitive Jiujitsu are unparalleled and may never be surpassed. After winning pretty much every gold medal on the sport's global stage, Almeida transitioned into MMA in 2021.

Fighting under the ONE Championship banner, the BJJ icon was perfect in his freshman year. He finished heavyweights Anderson 'Braddock' Silva, Kang Ji Won, Simon Carson, and most recently, heel-hooked former ONE interim heavyweight world title contender Kirill Grishenko. All of which came in the first round.

In 12 months' time, Almeida has effectively turned himself into a major threat to anyone wearing gold at heavyweight. The fate of the ONE heavyweight world title is hanging in the balance as the reigning divisional king Arjan Bhullar is scheduled to clash with interim world champion Anatoly Makykhin. This massive unification bout will take place at ONE Friday Fights 22 on June 23rd.

Meanwhile, the streaking 'Buchecha' will lock horns with Senegalese wrestling behemoth Oumar 'Reug Reug' Kane at ONE Fight Night 13 on August 5. The fight was initially scheduled to be part of NE 156 last year but was canceled and rescheduled due to Kane suffering an injury. With four big wins already under his belt, a fifth might send Almeida straight to his first MMA world title shot.

ONE Fight Night 13 will stream live and free on Prime Video in North America. As for ONE Friday Fights 22, which will air live from the legendary Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Thailand, the event can be viewed on ONE's YouTube channel for free.