Buchecha, Reinier De Ridder: The Respect Is Mutual

Seventeen-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Champion Marcus “Buchecha” Almeida is doing well in his mixed martial arts journey so far. 

He has won all three of his fights in ONE Championship and none of them has gone past the first round.

He will have an opportunity to extend his winning streak to four if he defeats former ONE Heavyweight World Title challenger Kirill Grishenko at ONE Fight Night 1: Moraes vs. Johnson II on 27 August at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Another win for “Buchecha” could make him one of the top contenders for the ONE Heavyweight World Championship. 

If he does step in line for a title shot, he could replicate the path of one of his idols in two-division ONE World Champion Reinier de Ridder, who recently trained with “Buchecha” at American Top Team. 

“I came there, I arrived a little late, but they finally let me in. I stepped on the mat, and ‘Buchecha’ was training with someone else. But he said, ‘Let’s train together.’ So, we got in like an hour and a half of straight training,” De Ridder said.

“[We did] a lot of rounds. It was an excellent session, a grueling session. And it’s just cool, man. It was cool to train with a guy I’ve looked up to for a while and to measure myself with his skill set.”

The feeling was mutual, because “Buchecha” also looks up to De Ridder.

“I felt blessed to hear that from him because he’s one of the MMA guys I look up to. So, when I discovered that he also looks up to me, it was like, ‘Oh, my God, [I’m] honored,’” Almeida said.

“I want to use my jiu-jitsu as he used his in his fights in his career. So that was inspiring for me and a great opportunity. It was great for me, not just to train but to learn a lot with him.”

At ONE Fight Night 1, Adriano Moraes will also defend the ONE Flyweight World Championship in a rematch with mixed martial arts icon Demetrious Johnson. ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Champion Nong-O Gaiyanghadao will defend his belt against Liam Harrison.

Moreover, ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon will also compete in the semifinals of the ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Grand Prix against Savvas Michael. And former ONE World Champion Jonathan Haggerty will face Amir Naseri in the tournament’s alternate fight.

Watch the lead card of ONE Fight Night 1: Moraes vs. Johnson II on Disney+ Hotstar at 5:30 a.m. India Standard Time (IST) on Saturday, 27 August. Meanwhile, the main card will follow on Disney+ Hotstar at 7:30 a.m. IST. You can also purchase tickets to watch the fights live through this link.

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