Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida in no rush to fight Anatoly Malykhin but will grab the opportunity

Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida has one man in mind for his shot at the world championship.

Whilst he doesn’t believe that he will fight for the world title next time he steps inside the Circle, Almeida hopes that when the opportunity comes around, it's Anatoly Malykhin standing across the Circle from him.

Malykhin and ‘Buchecha’ have been the two clear standouts in the heavyweight division over the last couple of years. Both men have faced little opposition in their recent performances and have made short work of their opponents.

Before Almeida can hope to face the Russian, Malykhin must first try to unify the heavyweight belts when he faces the returning Arjan Bhullar at ONE Fight Night 8 on Prime Video.

In an interview with SCMP MMA, Marcus Almeida spoke about how he hopes the heavyweight division plays out in the coming months before his shot at the world championship:

“I hope we can postpone this fight for a while. I have a couple of more fights to do, but if I fight for the title I hope it’s against him. I don’t think nobody will take that belt from him anytime soon.”

Watch the full interview below:

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Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida says he’s been "feeling more comfortable" adapting his jiu-jitsu for MMA

Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida is well aware of what his best skills are. The 17-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion didn’t transition to MMA thinking he would become a striker, as he has played to his strengths.

Since signing with ONE Championship and committing to a career in MMA, ‘Buchecha’ has been working to improve his skills in other areas as well as adapting his BJJ base to make it work under the MMA ruleset.

To compete for world championships, Almeida will likely need to prove himself to be more than just a one-trick pony. However, by watching his matches so far, there’s no denying that it’s an effective trick. In the same interview, ‘Buchecha’ spoke about the challenges he has faced in evolving his current skill set:

“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.”