“It feels good when people are wrong about me” - BJJ legend 'Buchecha' brushes off criticism in transition to MMA

Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida is now 2-0 in his ONE Championship career after making his professional debut earlier this year. Just like any other big star in the sport, the 31-year-old is seeing a surge in the number of his haters and rivals.

Anatoly Malykhin is the latest to question Almeida's foray into MMA. The undefeated Russian wasn’t impressed with Almeida’s latest winning performance against Kang Ji Won at ONE: Winter Warriors last Friday night. The Brazilian submitted the South Korean via first-round rear-naked choke on the night.

Malykhin also called out 'Buchecha' for a fight.

Speaking to ONE Championship in a recent interview, 'Buchecha' responded to Malykhin’s remarks and addressed a potential battle with him inside the ONE Circle.

“Kang was undefeated, five wins, five knockouts. I think the odds were for Kang. To be honest, I don’t care about that. I don’t care about people’s opinions. I’m just trying to get better, doing my job, doing my work, and it is what it is. But of course, it feels good when people are wrong about me,” Buchecha said.

“I think he’s a huge name in the organization, one of the best in the world. If I keep winning, eventually, we’re going to fight. Just like anyone who keeps a good winning streak, we’re going to fight each other sooner or later. So yeah, I hope that I keep winning and he will keep winning as well and eventually we’re going to fight. But like I said, I’m still learning. I’m still like just two fights and I’m in no rush to fight him or anyone.”

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'Buchecha' wants to stay true to his fighting style

Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida is one of the most decorated grapplers in history. His striking, however, still needs improving.

The 31-year-old says that doesn’t concern him. He says that will stay true to his grappling style in MMA, instead of being pressured into completely changing himself as a fighter.

In the same interview with ONE Championship, he said:

“I’m a grappler, so I'm always going to use my grappling. I’m not going to be one of those grapplers when I just strike because I feel confident. I don’t want to be one of those guys. I always promised myself that I would never change. Almost 20 years of jiu-jitsu for just one-two years of striking. Of course, I need to strike. I need to do the wrestling but I need to mix everything and make a perfect plan so that's my mindset. It’s mixed martial arts and that’s the game."