“There’s not as much pressure” – Buchecha says fighting in MMA is less nerve-wracking than competing in BJJ

Veteran martial artist Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida said that for him there is less pressure competing in MMA than in his traditional lane of Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He underscored that in the multi-faceted sport he has more space to bide his time while in BJJ there is practically none given that he is a legend in it.

The 33-year-old Sao Paulo, Brazil native has focused on MMA since coming on board ONE Championship in September 2021. While he has good success in doing it, winning four of five matches to date, he knows he still has more things to learn, something he basks in.

He shared this in an interview over Jaxxon Podcast, saying:

“I tried to get the same mindset that I had when I was competing for jiu-jitsu. I try to keep the same mindset. But being honest, for MMA, I get less nervous cause there’s not as much pressure as to when I was one of the best jiu-jitsu athletes out there. For sure, it's a lot of things to train.”

Watch the interview below:

Buchecha was last in action back in August where he was outlasted by Senegalese fighter Oumar Kane by way of unanimous decision. It was his first defeat in ONE, after winning his first four MMA matches by finishes inside the opening round.

While admitting it was a tough loss, Buchecha said he would use it as further motivation to continue striving to achieve his goals for MMA just as he vowed to come back better.

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Buchecha thoroughly working on MMA game

Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida is determined to improve on his MMA game and is leaving no stone unturned in going about it.

The American Top Team/Evolve MMA standout shared to ONE Championship in an interview last year that nothing has changed in his commitment to building his foundation in MMA and is happy with the progress he has been making.

Buchecha said:

“I train everything. I really like to train wrestling, the jiu-jitsu, which will always be my flagship, and striking. Nothing changed. I keep doing the same training. The emphasis is being on the overall context. I am feeling pretty good.”

The Brazilian star fell to his first defeat in ONE back in August at the hands of Oumar ‘Reug Reug’ Kane by unanimous decision. He was quick to say though that he is undeterred by it and that the journey of learning continues for him.