‘Buchecha’ says he’s known Tye Ruotolo for a long time

ONE heavyweight contender Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida has always known that the Ruotolo twins, Tye and Kade, were destined for big things.

The Brazilian jiu-jitsu legend, who has gone 4-0 since transitioning to MMA, recently revealed his shared history with his fellow ONE Championship superstars.

‘Buchecha’ said in an exclusive interview with the Singapore-based organization:

“You know me and the Ruotolo brothers. We are friends for a long time, and I met these kids when they were like green belts. And back in the day, we’re from the same team, RVCA team.”

Moreover, the undefeated ONE heavyweight even experienced firsthand just how phenomenal Tye Ruotolo was when he rolled against him last year:

At 33 years old, ‘Buchecha’ was already an established figure in the BJJ community long before the Ruotolos started to make a name for themselves.

The phenomenal 20-year-old submission grappling savants have already accomplished so much in such a short amount of time in both gi and no-gi. That success carried over inside the circle, as Tye Ruotolo recorded sick submission finishes over Garry Tonon and Marat Gafurov.

He’ll be taking on ONE middleweight world champion Reinier de Ridder next in the promotion’s highly anticipated on-location US debut at ONE Fight Night 10: Johnson vs Moraes III on Prime Video.

The entire card will emanate from the 1stBank Center in Colorado on May 5 and will air free for Amazon Prime Video users in North America.

Kade, on the other hand, went on to become the inaugural ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion after going 3-0 inside the circle. He’s slated to defend his world title against Tommy Langaker at ONE Fight Night 11.