BJJ world champion Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida shows off boxing skills in short clip

Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida is looking more like a boxer than a grappler these days, if you count the many times we’ve seen him work on his striking. The RVCA Training Center in Los Angeles recently uploaded a short clip of 'Buchecha' drilling combinations with boxing coach Jason Parillo last Wednesday.

The Brazilian superstar was in Los Angeles for the ONE Championship and Amazon Prime Video press conference to promote his upcoming fight with Kirill Grishenko at ONE on Prime Video 1.

Never one to take the day off from learning new skills, Almeida took advantage of being on the West coast to pay a visit to RVCA.

The gym was so elated with his visit they kindly shared the footage with 'Buchecha' fans on Instagram. They captioned the clip:

“@marcusbuchecha & @parilloboxing getting a few rounds together this morning at HQ 🥊💥”

To which Marcus Almeida responded back with:

“🔥🔥🔥 always good to be back home!”

Check out Almeida’s boxing skills at work

Marcus Almeida is preparing for the biggest fight of his MMA career yet. The Brazilian is set to square off against Kirill Grishenko in a heavyweight bout on the main card.

Grishenko is a dangerous Belarusian finisher with an overall MMA record of 5 wins and 1 loss. His only loss was to Anatoly Malykhin for the interim heavyweight world title back in February. Known to be a heavy-puncher with world-class wrestling experience, the Belarusian native will not be so easy to take down.

Marcus Almeida, on the other hand, is coming in strong. The 32-year-old has won three straight fights, the first two ending early with submission finishes and his latest bout ending via TKO against Australian heavyweight Simon Carson last month.

Almeida's greatest strength is obviously his ground game. However, it will be interesting to see if he can stand up against Grishenko in a striking battle, at least for a few minutes.

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"I believe I can win" - Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida on accepting fight against Kirill Grishenko

Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida accepted the Grishenko bout because he believes that he can win. After experiencing a couple of minor setbacks this year, the promotion has found him a good matchup with Krill Grishenko.

Demolishing his last three opponents, Almeida may feel a bit more challenged with a well-rounded competitor. Weighing in on the pros and cons, Almeida explained his approach to accepting bouts in an interview with SCMP MMA.

He said:

“If I accept a fight, that's because I believe I can win. I believe in my wrestling, I believe in my jiu-jitsu, and I believe in my striking too.”

As SCMP MMA pointed out in their conversation, a victory over a former world title contender on Amazon Prime Video would be huge. The win would make him a top heavyweight contender for the world title.

Check out the full interview with Almeida below: