Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida looking to position himself for a world title shot soon

While ONE Championship fans talk about Arjan Bhullar and Anatoly Malykhin, don’t be surprised to see Marcus 'Buchecha' Almeida’s name in the same conversation soon.

The ONE Championship heavyweight and Brazilian jiu-jitsu superstar has looked flawless so far in his four fights for the promotion. As expected, 'Buchecha' has looked like a world-beater when the fights reached the ground.

But as far as what’s next for 'Buchecha', he doesn’t have a fight booked at the moment for 2023. The Brazilian last fought in August of 2022 and has hopes of setting a course for the world title.

In a recent interview with the South China Morning Post, Marcus Almeida shot down the possibility of granting rematches on his way up the heavyweight ladder:

“There are so many guys in the division, that I don’t see myself doing rematches anytime soon with any of the guys I fought. Everyone asked for a rematch. Myself, when I lose I want to get a rematch too, so that’s a normal feeling. That’s a real fighter, they always want to go there and prove [the loss] was just a fluke or something. I have the same feeling when I lose. But in my head, I’m not thinking of a rematch against any of those opponents.”

Elaborating further on the kinds of opponents he wants to face, 'Buchecha' said:

“Moving forward, the ultimate goal is to fight for the belt, so I want to fight different opponents. As I said before, I want to fight them all, all the heavyweights before I fight for the belt. That’s my goal. So fighting someone that I already fought, I think it doesn’t make sense in my career right now.”

Fighters that come to mind that would send Marcus Almeida on his way to the belt include Kang Ji Won, Mauro Cerilli, and Amir Aliakbari. The belt 'Buchecha' has his sights set on will be contested for next month between Anatoly Malykhin and Arjan Bhullar.

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Marcus 'Buchecha' Almeida happy with how he’s adapting his jiu-jitsu for MMA

Not every athlete can make the jump to MMA, but 'Buchecha' is a different breed.

Later in the interview with SCMP, Almeida commented on how he’s applied his world-class BJJ ability to MMA:

“When I put my back on the mat a lot of people thought it was a mistake, but I managed to get a submission from there. It shows that my skills are good and can be applied in MMA. It’s been working a lot. I adapt my jiu-jitsu a lot for MMA. It’s been good, I’m feeling more comfortable and the last fight was proof of that.”

Almeida last took out former world title challenger Kirill Grishenko in August, submitting the Belarusian with a heel hook in the first round. It was the Brazilian's fourth straight first-round finish for ONE Championship.