‘Buchecha’ says stepping out of his ‘comfort zone’ to MMA tremendously improved his jiu-jitsu

As his second year as a professional mixed martial artist comes to an end, Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida has made one of the most flawless transitions from grappling to MMA.

Though he is certainly not the first former submission grappler to try his hand at MMA by incorporating some wrestling and striking into his game, Almeida has been perfect so far.

With four consecutive first-round finishes and lots of time spent in the gym working on his overall game and gaining more experience, he is now ready for the next step of his career.

Looking to take one challenge at a time, Almeida will return on August 4 at ONE Fight Night 13 to face Oumar ‘Reug Reug’ Kane in search of his fifth pro win.

One aspect of making the jump from grappling to MMA that a lot of competitors struggle with is adapting their jiu-jitsu skills to work under a ruleset that allows striking.

For Almeida, this doesn’t seem to have been an issue.

Whilst the heavyweight contender is always going to be a tough matchup for anyone in the world once the fight hits the floor, he has able to use his skill set effectively in MMA.

In a recent appearance on the JAXXON PODCAST, ‘Buchecha’ revealed that if anything, having to adapt his skills has made him a stronger grappler overall by forcing him to evolve and think of new solutions:

“For me, gi and no-gi is like my comfort zone, but if I go in MMA, it's going to test my jiu-jitsu in a different situation. Let's see whether my jiu-jitsu works in a real fight situation for self-defense.”

Watch the full podcast clip below:

ONE Fight Night 13 will air live and free from the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok via Prime Video for North American viewers.