Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida named honorary citizen of São Vicente in Brazil

ONE heavyweight contender, Marcus 'Buchecha' Almeida, became an honorary citizen of São Vicente in Brazil on Thursday.

The 17-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion was bestowed with a notarized government document from the city councilor of São Vicente, Higor Ferreira, during a ceremony at the Câmara Municipal on Thursday, January 26.

The councilman thanked ‘Buchecha’, who is a native of São Vicente, for “representing and taking the name of São Vicente to the world.”

Almeida took to Instagram to express his appreciation and gratitude for the honor with the following statement:

“Yesterday I received the title of Vicentino Citizen, idealized by councilor @higorferreirasv!

Honorary citizenship is a title of honor that a person of importance receives from some locality. The title of citizen equates the honored person to an official adoption. The grateful person becomes a brother, a countryman, a person from the homeland.

Thank you very much Councilman and friend @higorferreirasv and my brother from the heart @diegopelomundo_ for the initiative. It was an honor for me to receive this title from our beloved city of São Vicente.”

Not many athletes of this day and age will be able to match what Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida accomplished for the sport of jiu-jitsu. Apart from his 17 world titles, the Brazilian legend also claimed medals in countless grappling tournaments throughout his career at various levels of the sport.

Beginning his journey in the small municipality of Sao Vicente, Alemida is now one of the most highly recognized faces in the sports world today. He continues his athletic journey in MMA, fighting under the ONE Championship banner.

---

Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida responds to those who doubted his MMA skills

For Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida, coming to ONE Championship had its ups and downs. The upside was having the opportunity to compete at the highest level in another sport other than jiu-jitsu. The downside is being on the receiving end of some nasty online backlash from internet trolls.

However, Almeida proved the haters wrong when he scored his fourth consecutive victory against knockout sensation Kirill Grishenko last August. In a prior interview with ONE Championship, the 32-year-old said:

“I have just gotten my fourth victory, and now people start respecting me. Because people always doubted me. A lot of people say, ‘Oh, let’s see when he fights the next guy.’ So I fought the toughest guys of the division already, [and] I got the job done.”

The surging Brazilian is perhaps one fight away from earning his shot for the world title. Although nothing has been revealed, ‘Buchecha’ is currently on standby for his next appearance. Whether or not it is on the Denver card in May, it’s up to ONE Championship to decide, but he’s certainly ready for any challenge.