"New opponent but the goal is the same" - 'Buchecha' stoked for ONE 157

Grappling icon Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida had to change some things heading into his return to the circle, but his vision remains the same. Almeida was scheduled to take on Oumar Kane for his third mixed martial arts bout in ONE Championship. However, the Senegalese wrestler was forced to pull out of the contest due to an undisclosed injury.

After a bit of adjustment, Almeida will now face Brazilian brawler Hugo Cunha at ONE 157: Petchmorakot vs. Vienot on May 20 which will be broadcast live from the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Although he admitted to being frustrated with the delay, ‘Buchecha’ is focused on building his MMA resume.

In an Instagram post, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu legend wrote:

“New opponent but the goal is the same! On May 20th we will be back at work! See you all soon on ONE 157 @onechampionship.”

Check out the Instagram post below:

‘Buchecha’ is regarded as one of the greatest jiu-jitsu artists of all time, having won 17 BJJ world titles in his career. He’s since transitioned to MMA, holding a 2-0 record with both of his victories coming via first-round submission.

Almeida’s first submitted fellow Brazilian Anderson ‘Braddock’ Silva via north-south choke in September 2021. Just three months later, ‘Buchecha’ was back inside the circle, forcing South Korean knockout artist Kang Ji Won to tap out to a rear-naked choke.

Cunha, meanwhile, is a certified finisher be it on the ground or on the feet. ‘Silverback’ has six wins to his name, with three coming via knockout and the other half via submission.

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‘Buchecha’ loving ONE Championship’s push of submission grappling

A true BJJ artist, Almeida has nothing but love for ONE Championship’s continued focus on pushing the sport of grappling into the mainstream.

Long considered to be a niche field, submission grappling has had a hard time breaking into the worldwide sporting landscape. That was until ONE Championship began promoting jiu-jitsu heavily on its fight cards.

In its past two events, ONE X and ONE 156, ONE Championship staged three submission grappling matches. It was in those bouts that Danielle Kelly and Mikey Musumeci not only made their promotional debuts but also took home $50,000 performance bonuses.

In an interview with the South China Morning Post, Almeida said:

“You see the little girl Danielle Kelly, she got a $50,000 bonus. So I think, for jiu-jitsu grappling girls, I think, it was the biggest paycheck those girls got. Not even ADCC champs get that much money. So, it's good to see how they are changing people's lives, you know what I mean?"