“It was cool” - How BJJ started out as a family affair for Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida

There are several ways for families to stay united to form a strong bond. For Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida, understandably, it came through Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

BJJ helped the heavyweight fighter forge a tighter connection with his father, Clayton Ferreira, and sister, Ana.

The family of four did plenty of other things together, but one of his fondest memories growing up as a kid in Sao Paulo, Brazil, was how BJJ drew them closer to one another.

Ahead of his return versus Kirill Grishenko at ONE on Prime Video 1 this Friday, ‘Buchecha’ described the experience as something close to his heart, telling ONE:

“It was cool for a while. We trained, my sister, my father, and I.”

His mother did not seem too keen on joining them, though. However, she played her part by supporting in any way she could. Every time the three of them returned home, Almeida's mom advised them to spend more time sharpening their knowledge of the art.

‘Buchecha’ recalled:

“The biggest lesson I learned from [my parents] was to insist, persist, never give up, fight for my goals, and chase my dreams. This willpower I have, I learned from them. I learned to run after things from an early age. We tried to take my mother, but she didn't really like the idea of training. But it was cool, the family together there practicing a sport.”

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How Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida's sister guided him into BJJ

BJJ may be running through Almeida’s veins now, but surprisingly, he wasn’t the first at home to give the discipline a shot.

Instead, the Brazilian's venture into BJJ began after his sister and father sweated their hearts out on the mats.

“The two convinced me to go train too. My father didn't like the idea at first, but in order not to forbid my sister to train, he started training too. At the gym, there was only my sister and one more girl. But he was more intent on watching over her. And as I got beat up a lot by her, I started to go. That was the first contact with jiu-jitsu.”

The 32-year-old has since picked up everything within the BJJ realm, including 17 world titles and other accolades while competing in Gi and No-Gi tournaments worldwide.

After establishing himself in that art, the American Top Team and Evolve MMA decided to pursue other world titles, particularly in MMA.

He can take a huge step towards that goal if he passes his next test with flying colors at American primetime on August 26.