Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida only willing to return to grappling again if it’s against Gordon Ryan

Brazilian jiu-jitsu legend Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida is staying in the mixed martial arts lane. However, he is willing to return to fighting in submission grappling if his opponent will be decorated grappler Gordon Ryan.

Already making major inroads in MMA under ONE Championship, the American Top Team heavyweight fighter looks to build on the gains he has had in the multi-faceted sport. With that, he hopes to vie for the world title in the immediate future.

However, ‘Buchecha’ recently noted that if he gets the chance to battle once again with Ryan in grappling, he will strongly consider it.

He shared with SCMP MMA:

“If we do get the opportunity to fight, it would be great to fight against him for sure. I think it would be the only fight that makes sense for me in terms of, ‘Would you be willing to fight grappling again?’ Of course, I would, but the only name that would make me interested to fight would be against him for sure. Everybody else, not really.”

Watch the interview below:

Ryan is widely recognized as one of the greatest no-gi grapplers of all time, backed by his long list of accomplishments and the dominant manner with which he achieved them.

He also faced 'Buchecha' in the Absolute bracket of the ADCC World Championship in 2019.

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Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida really wants to fight on ONE Championship’s first U.S. card

Heavyweight contender Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida is keenly eyeing a spot at ONE Championship’s first-ever on-ground live event in the United States in May.

The Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt has made a strong case for himself to be part of ONE Fight Night 10 on Prime Video on May 5 in Colorado. He made note of the fact that he has been a U.S. resident for some time now and has his own fanbase there.

He shared with SCMP MMA:

"100 percent. I have lived in America for 13 years. I got my citizenship, so I’m half Brazilian-American now. It’s like that. So for me to fight on the U.S. card would be awesome because I have a lot of fans in the United States [and] because I’ve been fighting there for so long in my jiu-jitsu career. I have barely fought in Brazil since I moved to America."

He added:

"It’s been like two or three times in 13 years, that’s how much. All the other fights have been in the U.S. For MMA, all my MMA fights have been in Singapore. I have a lot of fans in America so it would be great to fight where I live right now. For sure, that would be great. That would be a perfect world."

‘Buchecha’ has worked his way to becoming a contender in ONE’s heavyweight division since making his promotional debut in September 2021. His most recent conquest in the circle was former world title challenger Kirill Grishenko last August at ONE on Prime Video 1.

If 'Buchecha' does land a spot at ONE Fight Night 10, then his fight will be broadcast live and for free to all Prime Video subscribers in North America.