‘Buchecha’ wants to achieve the same heights in MMA just as he did in BJJ

Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida is the most decorated Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion, but he’s not content with just living on rarified air in submission grappling.

The 17-time BJJ world champion has now transitioned into mixed martial arts, and wants to have as much success in his new sport as in his old one.

In an interview with Money Moicano Podcast, Almeida said he wants to capture the ONE heavyweight world title and defend the strap as many times as possible in his career.

The 33-year-old said:

“But of course, I want to do something great. I wanna be the champion, I wanna add more belts, defend my belts. So that's my goal for sure.”

‘Buchecha’ seemed to have the easiest transition for any BJJ artist into MMA. The Brazilian legend has chalked up a perfect 4-0 start with all of them ending in the first round. Of his four wins, three came by way of submission while one ended in knockout.

Almeida made his MMA debut at ONE: Revolution in September 2021 where he promptly submitted Brazilian knockout artist Anderson ‘Braddock’ Silva with North-South Choke.

He’s since scored a submission win against Kang Ji Won, a TKO victory against Simon Carson, and a mind-blowing heel hook submission over Kirill Grishenko at ONE on Prime Video 1 in August 2022.

‘Buchecha’ can extend his perfect record to five wins when he takes on Senegalese brawler ‘Reug Reug’ Oumar Kane at ONE Fight Night 13 this August 4 at the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok.

A win for ‘Buchecha’ could potentially push him to that world title shot against ONE heavyweight world champion Anatoly Malykhin.

ONE Fight Night 13 is available live and free to all Prime Video subscribers in North America.

Watch Almeida's entire interview below: [Comments from 19:35 onwards]