“He will struggle to take me to the ground” - Kirill Grishenko confident his wrestling will give Marcus Almeida fits

Kirill Grishenko hopes to get back into the win column following his loss to Anatoly Malykhin at ONE: Bad Blood in February. The Belarusian fighter will return to the circle when ONE Championship makes its return to U.S. primetime at ONE on Prime Video 1. There, he faces rising heavyweight contender Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida.

As a 17-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion, ‘Buchecha’ has laid waste to everyone that has set foot in the Circle with him. Through three appearances, Almeida has scored three straight first round finishes, leaning on his grappling to get the job done in each instance.

Despite Almeida’s success in the circle thus far and his decorated history as a submission grappler, Kirill Grishenko is far from concerned. While speaking to ONE Championship, Grishenko believes his own wrestling acumen will be enough to stifle the Brazilian's takedown attempts, leaving him to rely on his striking.

“I know what I’m capable of. He’s got the advantage on the ground overall, and particularly in grappling, but not by a landslide. I can beat him in striking. I’m working on my striking a lot right now, and my [wrestling] base means he will struggle to take me to the ground.”

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Marcus Almeida may put his striking to the test against Kirill Grishenko at ONE on Prime Videeo 1

While Marcus Almeida has leaned on his grappling skills to dominate the competition, Kirill Grishenko will be his toughest test yet when the two step inside the circle at ONE on Prime Video 1. A solid wrestler in his own right, Grishenko may be able to defend Almeida’s takedowns and force ‘Buchecha’ to turn to his striking.

Though we’ve seen very little of his stand-up game thus far, Almeida is confident in his skills on the feet and knows that sooner or later, he will be forced to stand and bang inside the circle. Speaking to South China Morning Post, Almeida said of his striking:

“I know that if I accept a fight, that's because I believe I can win and my expectations are the best. He's a great wrestler. But I believe in my wrestling too. I believe in my jiu-jitsu, and I believe in my striking too. I couldn't show much, but I'm striking a lot in the gym. So sooner or later, I have to do it up there, the time is coming.”

With three career knockouts and a submission victory under his belt, Kirill Grishenko will be a tough outing for Almeida. However, should he get past Grishenko, ‘Buchecha’ will likely skyrocket into a possible heavyweight title opportunity.