“I did not have time to defend myself” - Kirill Grishenko opens up on submission loss to ‘Buchecha’

Kirill Grishenko recently opened up about his submission loss against Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida at ONE on Prime Video 1.

The heavyweight MMA bout between two of the most dangerous fighters in the division ended abruptly in the opening round when 'Buchecha' locked in a heel hook, submitting Girshenko.

ONE Championship followed up with Grishenko recently and asked him what went wrong in the match against the BJJ star. The Belarusian fighter explained:

“At first I missed his kick. Then, standing up, I tried to push 'Buchecha' with a strike, but as a result, I missed his pass to the legs, I did not have time to defend myself.”

Kirill Grishenko had never been submitted by another competitor until that eventful night. Known to be a prolific and multi-titled Greco-Roman wrestler, the early loss against the Brazilian came as a shock to many of his fans.

Grishenko had racked up an overall MMA record of 5-0, with four of his five wins coming via TKO. He first tasted defeat at the hands of current ONE interim heavyweight world champion Anatoly Malykhin this past February.

Despite losing to the Russian juggernaut in round two via knockout, Grishenko put on a better and more tactical performance that evening than he did against 'Buchecha'.

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Kirill Grishenko has an incredible work ethic to turn things around

However disappointed Kirill Grishenko might be from his latest match with 'Buchecha', the Minsk native is not the quitting type.

It’s incredible to believe it will be two years this October since Grishenko entered the pro MMA scene. Fighting against the toughest competitors in the business, with major wins against Oumar Kane and Dustin Joynson, the 31 year-old fighter was on a seismic rise to a top contender spot.

So, if anyone can bounce back from a loss just as quickly as rising to the top, it’s Kirill Grishenko. He once told ONE Championship:

“You should never give up, even when it’s hard. Do your best, get up, and try to go all the way and achieve your goals.”

Grishenko still has a lot of years left in his career to move up the ladder once more. So if you think he’s going to leave things the way it is with 'Buchecha', you’re in for a surprise.