'Buchecha' shares his appreciation for BJJ legend Leo Vieira’s support over the years

Marcus 'Buchecha' Almeida is a giant in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and is appreciative of all the support given to him throughout the years, particularly from legends that came before him like Leo Vieira.

The Brazilian heavyweight star recently took to Instagram to express his appreciation for the BJJ legend. In the post, 'Buchecha' referred to a quote from Ernest Hemingway before proceeding to express his gratitude to his one of his mentors.

He wrote:

“'Who will be in the trenches next to you? - and does it matter ? – More than the war itself.' Ernest Hemingway"

He added:

"This sentence sums it up everything. Congratulations Mexxtri, all the best in this life not only but always. Thank you very much for teaching us so much beyond the tatames!"

The Brazilian star was a 17-time BJJ world champion before signing with ONE Championship in 2021 to widen his horizons and compete in mixed martial arts.

He has had four MMA fights in ONE Championship to date, all of which he won by way of stoppage. The American Top Team fighter is hoping to get a shot at the world title in the very near future.

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BJJ legend Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida excited by the idea of grappling in ONE Championship

Brazilian jiu-jitsu legend Marcus 'Buchecha' Almeida is currently focused on his mixed martial arts journey in ONE Championship. However, he is not closing the door on competing in submission grappling at some point in the future.

One of the best and decorated BJJ athletes in the world prior to signing with ONE, 'Buchecha' is happy to see grappling given attention in the promotion along with other disciplines.

He admitted that the setup has sparked excitement and interest in him of maybe revisiting submission grappling for his future fights.

'Buchecha' told ONE Championship:

“Every [submission grappling] fight I watch makes me more excited to one day fight in ONE’s submission grappling division.”

Among those he is interested in competing against in submission grappling in ONE if ever is American Gordon Ryan, who is recognized as one of the greatest no-gi grapplers of all time.

The two fighters last met in the Absolute bracket of the ADCC World Championship in 2019.

While the Brazilian star has not competed under submission grappling rules in ONE, the American Top Team fighter's BJJ background has been prominent in his MMA victories, which currently stand at four with zero defeats.

His latest win was last August over Belarusian Kirill Grishenko by submission inside 65 seconds.