Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida shoots down Kirill Grishenko rematch

Heavyweight contender and Brazilian jiu-jitsu legend Marcus “Buchecha” Almeida is firm on not giving rematches to opponents he has conquered and is not about to break it with Belarusian Kirill Grishenko.

The BJJ great made short work of Grishenko in their collision at ONE on Prime Video 1 last August, winning by submission just inside 65 seconds into the contest.

Speaking to SCMP MMA in an interview, 'Buchecha' shared that he is not a fan of rematches in general, more so in the case of Grishenko, who he dominated big time:

“To be honest, all the opponents that I submitted, they all ask for a rematch. Of course, in one minute he couldn’t show what he was training for, but I could. I don’t see myself doing rematches with anyone that I fought.”

Watch the full interview below:

'Buchecha' has been chalking up wins since making his ONE debut in 2021. He has won four straight and willed himself to title contention in the heavyweight division in just a short time.

There is no word yet on when he will return to action but is hopeful of having a title shot this year, possibly in front of his Brazilian fans.

---

Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida taking things one day at a time as an MMA fighter

Brazilian jiu-jitsu legend Marcus 'Buchecha' Almeida is enjoying his transition to mixed martial arts and is steadily building an impressive body of work.

The 17-time BJJ world champion shared that the key for him so far in MMA is taking things one day at a time, giving his all in what he does, and appreciating every opportunity afforded him. He told SCMP MMA:

"Every day, I give more value for the small things. If I can keep fighting and keep doing this for as long as I can, I’ll be really happy because it’s something that I love."

He added:

"I don’t call that work because it’s something that I enjoy. This year, it’s not different. That’s what I hope that I can be there and I can happily fight and train healthy. One day after another, that’s it."

'Buchecha' has won four straight fights in ONE Championship, all coming by stoppage, since making his promotional debut in 2021. The latest was last August over Belarusian fighter Kirill Grishenko.

In ONE’s heavyweight division, he is set to collide with the likes of reigning world champion Arjun Bhullar and interim world champion Anatoly Malykhin, who are penciled in for a unification bout in March.