“I want to do something good in this sport” – BJJ legend ‘Buchecha’ keen on improving in MMA after absorbing first career loss 

Brazilian legend and rising ONE Championship heavyweight mixed martial arts contender Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida has more on his mind than just winning fights and world titles. He wants to leave a lasting impact on the MMA world.

So when he lost his first professional MMA fight since making the transition from BJJ earlier this year, Almeida was instead motivated to get better rather than feel depleted.

The 33-year-old grappling icon is one of the most promising heavyweight talents in all of mixed martial arts today, and he’s only getting better.

Speaking to BJPenn.com in a recent interview, Almeida said he was pumped to learn from his mistakes and become a better fighter.

The American Top Team product said:

“I’m training, evolving every day, studying a lot of BJJ as it’s my best weapon,” Almeida said. I want to improve and do something good in this sport, so I’m putting 100 percent into this.”

‘Buchecha’ trains with the very best in south Florida, with guys like former ONE flyweight MMA world champion ‘Mikinho’ Adriano Moraes. Despite suffering one of the most brutal defeats of his career, Almeida says he will be back better than ever.

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Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida looks past devastating loss to Oumar ‘Reug Reug’ Kane

Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida joined the world’s largest martial arts organization in September of 2021, and for a time, it appeared as if the 33-year-old was on his way to a shot at the ONE heavyweight MMA world title.

With a four-fight winning streak under his belt, however, Almeida ran into some stiff competition by way of Senegalese wrestling sensation Oumar ‘Reug Reug’ Kane. The two met at ONE Fight Night 13 last August in a pivotal heavyweight clash.

Had Almeida defeated Kane, the Brazilian would have certainly been next in line for a crack at Anatoly Malykhin’s heavyweight throne. Unfortunately for ‘Buchecha’, Kane put together his best performance yet and dominated the Brazilian across three rounds to upset Almeida via a wide unanimous decision victory.