Buchecha gets nostalgic about PRIDE heading into match against Reug Reug

Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida may have started his career as a Brazilian jiu-jitsu artist, but he was always a mixed martial arts fan growing up.

The 17-time BJJ world champion is now carving a brilliant start to his MMA career and he’s getting nostalgic heading into his next match in ONE Championship.

Almeida is set to face ‘Reug Reug’ Oumar Kane in August at the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok.

With Lumpinee-hosted events using a ring instead of the usual Circle, ‘Buchecha’ told South China Morning Post that he feels he’s walking into a PRIDE event against Kane.

Almeida added that he doesn’t mind fighting in a ring since PRIDE uses a similar stage and that’s what got him into MMA.

“No, not really. But I remember when I first started watching MMA was in the PRIDE days, so it was in the ring. I always wanted to fight in a ring actually before a cage. But of course, I like to fight in the [Circle] as well. I’m excited, it’s going to be great.”

‘Buchecha’ is one of the fastest-rising stars in ONE Championship and is at a perfect 4-0 in the promotion. The 33-year-old has a 100 percent finish rate with all four of his matches ending in the first round.

The Brazilian superstar’s latest win was a sublime heel hook submission win over Kirill Grishenko at ONE on Prime Video 1.

Oumar Kane, meanwhile, is 4-1 in ONE Championship with three knockout wins to his name.

The Senegalese grappler last won a unanimous decision against Uzbekistan’s Jasur Mirzamukhamedov at ONE on Prime Video 5.