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There has never been a submission specialist in the heavyweight division quite like Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida.
As one of the most acclaimed grappling specialists to ever step foot onto the mats, the Brazilian is a unique threat amongst the powerhouses at the top of the division.
2023 didn’t exactly go to plan for Almeida, who suffered the first loss of his MMA career against ‘Reug Reug’ Oumar Kane at ONE Fight Night 13 last August. That being said, it can’t be forgotten that he came into the year with surging momentum after passing the biggest test of his career with flying colors.
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It took just over a minute for him to find a submission finish against Kirill Grishenko at ONE on Prime Video 1, leaving the crowd stunned with how effortless and ruthless he made it look.
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Fans reacted to the submission win all over again after ONE Championship posted ‘Buchecha’s’ highest reel finish on social media:
“What’s this, then? 🤔 @marcusbuchecha”
‘Buchecha’ eyes upward trajectory in 2024
The four-fight win streak of Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida came to an end in 2023, but he will have learned more from that one loss than any of his wins combined.
His devastating display against Grishenko proved what everyone already knew, and that’s how he would be able to cut through the other contenders if the fight entered his world.
The task was for Almeida to prove that there was more to his potential than the submission threat by working to improve his overall game.
Suffering a loss to ‘Reug Reug’ in August showed that the Brazilian isn’t at that stage yet where he can compete with the very toughest contenders in the division. However, that isn’t to say he will come back stronger in 2024, as he looks to continue growing as a mixed martial artist after dominating the Brazilian jiu-jitsu scene for more than a decade.
