ONE heavyweight MMA star Marcus 'Buchecha' Almeida places great importance on his development as a fighter - even if it means doing a deep dive on his defeats.
Speaking with the Bangkok Post following his first-round submission win over Amir Aliakbari at ONE 169: Malykhin vs. 'Reug Reug' this past Friday, Nov. 8, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu great said:
"To be honest, as long as I get the job done. If I need to strike, I'll strike, like I did last time. Of course, I got beat up a lot in the first round so it was hard to do striking in the second and third round after getting beat up a lot by 'Reug Reug'. I got a lot of punches in the head, so that cost me a little bit of my reflex and my ability to think fast. Like I said, it cost me a lot, a lot of the fight."
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After his $50,000 performance bonus-winning outing inside the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, Almeida now owns four victories via submission out of five finishes under the ONE banner.
'Buchecha' credits his team for ONE 169 victory
Marcus 'Buchecha' Almeida showed gratitude to everyone who helped him prepare for his titanic matchup with Amir Aliakbari at ONE 169.
Almeida told ONE commentator Mitch Chilson during the post-fight interview:
"I would like to say thank you to my corner. Not just the ones here, but also all my friends and coaches from American Top Team, all my friends and coaches at Phuket Fight Club, where I spent the last few days here in Thailand."
Fans in the United States and Canada with an active Prime Video subscription can rewatch ONE 169 on demand.