Buchecha's journey from jiu-jitsu to MMA

Not many athletes in the world can match what 13-time IBJJF World Champion and Guinness World Record holder Marcus 'Buchecha' Almeida has done for the future of martial arts. Known as "one of the best Brazilian jiu-jitsu grapplers of his generation", the story below discovers how Marcus Almeida rose to BJJ stardom and how the long trajectory of his career led him to fight under the ONE Championship banner.

Buchecha's early beginnings

Marcus Vinicius Oliveira de Almeida was born on January 8, 1990 in a city called San Vicente, in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

While all the other kids in Brazil wanted to become professional soccer players, Almeida didn't take too kindly to it. He eventually showed an interest in Brazilian jiu-jitsu when he was 12 years old after his sister and father introduced him to the sport.

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As the story goes, his 15 year old sister was the first person in the family to learn jiu-jitsu. Their father strongly disapproved of the idea because it was an all-contact sport and she was the only girl involved with a bunch of boys. Hence, Almeida's father decided to go with her to watch her practice. After watching her practice, he also fell in love with the art form. He partook in the learning and went on to purchase his first gi. Desiring that Marcus would also take an interest, he took Marcus and his sister to a larger and more well-known jiu-jitsu academy in Sao Paolo. This is where he met Rodrigo Cavaca.

Marcus Almeida trained under jiu-jitsu legend Rodrigo Cavaca

Marcus Almeida took Brazilian jiu-jitsu seriously at the age of 15 and from that moment onward, his hunger for the sport grew. Training under the former IBJJF World Champion at Checkmat allowed him to compete in national tournaments like "Brasileiro, Sao Paolo cup and Mundial." He quickly gained the experience he needed, earning him a reputation for being one of the "most feared athletes in the lower belt divisions" by the BJJ Heroes encyclopedia.

Marcus Almeida's rise to jiu-jitsu championship glory

In 2010, Marcus Almeida was given that black belt in BJJ by Rodrigo Cavaca. He was only 20 years old at the time.

Almeida competed in many jiu-jitsu, gi and no gi tournaments outside of Brazil. He competed at the Abu Dhabi World Pro, Pan American Championships, IBJJF World Championships in USA, and for ADCC Championships in Beijing.

It was clear that the young prospect had transitioning into a bit of a prodigy, having had successive runs early in the sport. In his prime, 'Buchecha' competed and won against the world’s best black belt grapplers in open weight and in the ultra heavyweight divisions.

Almeida competed and defeated household names including former World Champions Rodolfo Vieira, Leandro Lo, Claudio Calasans, and Leo Nogueira.

One of the earliest highlights of his career that propelled him onto the world stage was defeating “The Black Belt Hunter” Rodolfo Vieira at IBJJF Worlds 2012. At the time, Vieira was on a dominant 33-Gi run and the 2011 double-gold IBJJF World Champion.

Rewatch Marcus Almeida clash with Rodolfo Vieira below:

Marcus Almeida was clearly the underdog in the quarterfinals against the former champion. After the seminal win, 'Buchecha' was undefeatable. The jiu-jitsu phenom kept the momentum going by dominating another two world championships. He won double-gold in 2013 and 2014 respectively. Year after year, fans expected him to win every time he competed at the IBJJF Worlds.

Almeida's career, however, took a hard turn for the worst in 2015. He suffered a knee injury during a grappling bout with Ricardo Evangelista at IBJJF Worlds. The double-gold champion experienced his first loss in a long time by referee stoppage. It took 'Buchecha' almost a year to recover.

Unsurprisingly, the multi-world champion made his comeback at the 2016 IBJJF Worlds and achieved back-to-back double-golds for three consecutive years.

Another highlight of his career was the two superfights against national hero and Brazilian jiu-jitsu legend, Roger Gracie. Their first grappling bout ended in a draw and they locked horns again five years later for a rematch. After a bit of a struggle, Gracie successfully defeated Buchecha with a submission choke. It was an epic way to say goodbye to jiu-jitsu fans after a long and undefeated run in the sport.

Watch Roger Gracie and Marcus Almeida II below:

What remained to be accomplished for Marcus Almeida was to match and beat Roger Gracie’s jiu-jitsu record of 10 IBJJF World Titles.

That day finally arrived in 2018. Almeida made history and achieved his 11th IBJJF World Title against his toughest competitor to date. The ultra-heavyweight match between Gi competitor João Gabriel Rocha was one of the most exciting championship bouts to watch.

Both competitors were neck-to-neck at the end of the grappling bout. However, 'Buchecha' came out on top, successfully defeating Rocha by referee decision. Almeida and his fans were overwhelmed with pride for his historic breakthrough.

Almeida continued the winning streak by adding another double-gold in 2019 to his illustrious record. The 13-time IBJJF World Champion made it into the Guinness Book of Records in 2019 for “the most gold medals in the sport.”

By the time he moved on to MMA, 29-year-old Almeida had already established his name as a multiple-time BJJ world champion, a multiple-time no-gi BJJ world champion, and a Guinness World Record holder.

The transition from BJJ to ONE Championship

The opportunity finally arrived for 'Buchecha' to move towards a combat career in MMA after dominating jiu-jitsu. On MMA Fighting he said:

“It was time to leave jiu-jitsu for MMA [...] I’ve proven what I had to prove. It’s time to prove something to myself now.”

'Buchecha' was determined to take that leap towards mastering another discipline. He trained at AKA and Kings MMA, but eventually thought it best to live in Florida and train at American Top Team to improve his striking and ground game.

After refusing bad MMA offers over the years, he found a home with ONE Championship. He signed the contract on July 31, 2020, and made his ONE debut against Anderson 'Braddock' Silva at ONE: Revolution.

Silva was a tough opponent with a 3-1 record in his MMA career. He was also a former Glory kickboxing competitor with more than 13 years of experience. However, 'Buchecha' defeated Silva with an outstanding first-round submission by North-South choke.

For his second heavyweight bout, 'Mighty Warrior' Ji Won Kang took on the jiu-jitsu phenom at ONE: Winter Warriors. Kang was on a 6-fight win streak and was looking for his seventh against the Brazilian competitor. But he was no match for the king of BJJ. Kang was submitted in the opening round via rear-naked choke.

Present Day: Marcus Almeida vs. Simon Carson at ONE 158

Marcus Almeida is currently undefeated with a perfect 2-0 MMA record as he heads towards his third matchup in nine months against Simon Carson at ONE 158. Will the Brazilian jiu-jitsu master be able to prove that his striking is as good as his grappling? Will 'Buchecha' one day reach another lifetime goal as the best heavyweight champion in mixed martial arts? Fans are dying to find out what lies ahead for the 13-time IBJJF World Champion.