“I really enjoyed it” - ‘Buchecha’ Marcus Almeida details experience as ONE guest commentator

Marcus Almeida, known to most fans as ‘Buchecha’, has quickly become a fan-favorite in the circle. In three outings so far, the 17-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion has remained undefeated, putting away all three of his opponents in the first round.

Watching Almeida’s fast rise in the heavyweight division has been nothing short of spectacular, but the Brazilian grappling wizard can do more than fight. Recently, ‘Buchecha’ had the opportunity to do some guest commentary work for ONE Championship.

While speaking to the South China Morning Post, Almeida was asked about his experience at the commentary booth, to which he replied:

“For sure, it was something really different and I really enjoyed it. I really liked the experience for sure I need to get more training on the TV, so maybe get the opportunity to [do] commentating again, but I really enjoy it. I really like it. And it's something that I can think about in the future for sure.”

Catch the full interview below:

After scheduled bouts with Oumar ‘Reug Reug’ Kane and Hugo Cunha fell through at the last minute, ‘Buchecha’ was left without an opponent. Instead of sitting on the sidelines, Almeida was given the opportunity to pick up a headset and put his stamp on an evening of fights without stepping into the circle.

When asked if he had any nervousness during his first experience as a commentator, Almeida said:

“I mean, I wasn't really nervous because I was about to comment on a grappling match. It's something that I really know what I'm talking about. But of course, to be doing something for the first time, it's always like, I wouldn't say like, I'm worried but more like I'm concerned about saying something wrong or saying something at the wrong time. But Mitch [Chilson] and Michael [Schiavello] helped me. They helped me a lot and everyone on the TV and the staff, helped me a lot to make me feel like really calm and comfortable. So it was great.”

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'Buchecha' returns to the circle at ONE 161

On August 27, when the promotion returns to Signapore Indoor Stadium for its highly-anticipated debut on Amazon Prime Video, Marcus Almeida will step back into the circle against dangerous Belarusian striker Kirill Grishenko at ONE 161.

Coming off of a loss to interim heavyweight world champion Anatoly Malykhin, Grishenko will look to get back into the win column at Almeida’s expense, and possibly hand the Brazilian his first loss in the process.

Almeida plans to keep his undefeated streak and 100 percent finish rate intact when he steps into the circle for the fourth time. In three bouts, ‘Buchecha’ has an average fight time of 2:35 and has only spent a total of 7:46 inside the ONE cage.

Almeida has been nothing short of dominant, but will face his biggest test yet against the former world title challenger.