“I abused my body a bit” - 'Buchecha' doesn’t see himself fighting again in 2022

Brazilian jiu-jitsu superstar and ONE heavyweight contender Marcus 'Buchecha' Almeida doesn’t see himself fighting for the rest of the calendar year.

Almeida is coming fresh off a heavyweight contest with former ONE interim heavyweight world title challenger Kirill Grishenko at ONE on Prime Video 1 in August.

The 32-year-old Brazilian made it look easy, submitting the Belarusian wrestler in just 64 seconds. The victory helped ‘Buchecha’ establish himself among the top heavyweights in the division.

However, while it looked like he came out unscathed across his first four fights inside the circle, ‘Buchecha’ has admitted that the activity has taken a toll on his body,

Speaking to ONE Championship, the American Top Team representative said:

“I think this year I shouldn't fight anymore. But there are big things to happen next year, big news in ONE Championship. This end of the year, I will take the opportunity to take a vacation and recover from some injuries.

The Brazilian added:

"I had four fights in 11 months, so I was very active, but I abused my body a bit. So now, I'm going to take care of my small injuries that I had and at the beginning of next year I already intend to fight.”

Known for his jiu-jitsu prowess, ‘Buchecha’ has made the transition from Brazilian jiu-jitsu to MMA look relatively easy. The 17-time BJJ world champion is unbeaten with a clean slate of 4-0.

He’s been paired up with a whole range of athletes and has successfully finished them all. Knockout artists like Anderson Silva and Kang Ji Won, plus wrestlers Kirill Girshenko and Simon Carson, have all fallen via first-round finishes.

'Buchecha' is indeed a force to be reckoned with. Now that he’s teased another big fight in 2023, it’s probable that he’ll get paired up with a top-ranked contender. In that case, he’ll need all the vacation time he can muster before jumping on another tough training camp.

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'Buchecha' feels he’s earned some respect after his fourth consecutive victory

Marcus 'Buchecha' Almeida felt a sense of validation as an MMA fighter after achieving his fourth straight victory this past August.

Instead of shooting for a takedown in the opening round as fans expected, he decided to exchange strikes on the feet with Kirill Grishenko. His first calf kick of the night dropped the Belarusian to his knees, with the impact of the kick immediately setting the tone for how the rest of the fight was going to go.

Having earned his fourth victory in 11 months, the Brazilian slugger feels like he’s finally earned some respect as an MMA fighter. In the post-fight interview, he said:

“Just got my fourth victory and now people start respecting me because a lot of people always doubt [me], they’re saying, ‘Let’s see the next guy, and the next guy,’ so I fought like the toughest guys of the division already, so I got the job done. So, now I think people start to respect me as an MMA fighter.”