BJJ Great Marcus Almeida Committed To MMA Journey After Third Straight Win

Marcus “Buchecha” Almeida put in another stellar performance in his return to the ONE Championship Circle at ONE 158: Tawanchai vs. Larsen on 3 June. 

The Brazilian star finished Simon Carson in emphatic fashion inside the Singapore Indoor Stadium, needing less than a round to finish the hulking Australian and score his third straight finish in ONE. 

“Buchecha” surprised fans when he chose to stay on his feet after the fight got underway. He is a 17-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Champion, after all, whose grappling prowess secured his previous two wins in the Circle.  

Instead, the 32-year-old star stood and threw some destructive kicks at Carson before bringing him down to the canvas. From there, he served heavy ground and pound to his foe, who was only able to defend himself for so long before the referee called off the action. 

With the win, Almeida continued his dominant run in ONE and got to exhibit that he has more in his arsenal than just grappling, which is exactly what he wanted to do. 

“I'm training a lot – the wrestling, the striking, the jiu jitsu. So, I was really confident in my striking, but I saw Simon was moving really well too. He got a good kick, so I kicked him back. It was back and forth, but I saw the opportunity to take him down, and I did. And he was defending really well, but once I got into a good position, the mount, I felt like it was a good position to ground and pound. So I didn't waste any energy before,” he said. 

“But once I got to mount him, I got good control. I felt like it was the moment to start punching and open up for a submission or something. But I saw him defending. So [I thought], 'I guess I'm going to keep punching until the referee stops.'” 

Now that he has three wins in ONE, the question of where “Buchecha” goes next comes to mind. He has made it clear that he isn’t looking for a ONE World Title fight yet, as he wants to sharpen his all-around skills before going for the ultimate prize in MMA. 

He has also commited to his new career as a mixed martial artist. The American Top Team representative has put grappling behind him for now, and he is getting more comfortable with the ins and outs of the all-encompassing sport. 

“It's a game. It's another sport. It's MMA. I'm not fighting grappling, so a lot of times when you just focus on the submission, you make a mistake [of not] punishing the guy [when you find an opening]. You have to punch. You have to take down. You have to defend. You have to submit. So it's mixed [martial arts],” Almeida said. 

In the meantime, download the ONE Super App to catch all the action at ONE 159: De Ridder vs. Bigdash on Friday, 22 July, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.  

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