WATCH: BJJ GOAT ‘Buchecha’ dominates fellow legend Andre Galvao in 2013 IBJJF Pan American Absolute final

As a 17-time BJJ world champion, Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida is considered by many to be the most accomplished submission grappler in the history of the sport.

Perhaps one of the greatest examples to support that is Almeida’s incredible victory over fellow BJJ legend Andre Galvão at the 2013 IBJJF Pan American Championships. ‘Buchecha’ walked away with the victory via points, outscoring his opponent 4-2 in the final of the Absolute division.

“Throwing it back to one of the best matches in Pans history. Buchecha vs Andre Galvão in the 2013 open class final was absolutely insane from start to finish. There are only 4 days left to register for the 2024 Pan Championship. Head over to IBJJF.com before capacity fills up.”

After amassing nearly 140 career wins in BJJ, ‘Buchecha’ decided to test himself in the world of mixed martial arts, making his debut inside the Circle at ONE: Revolution in September 2021.

‘Buchecha’ makes the move from mat to cage

Marcus Almeida quickly established himself as one of the most dangerous men in the heavyweight division, scoring four straight first-round finishes against Anderson Silva, Kang Ji Won, Simon Carson, and Kirill Grishenko.

However, ‘Buchecha’ ran into a brick wall at ONE Fight Night 13 when he met Senegalese standout Oumar ‘Reug Reug’ Kane. Through three rounds of entertaining action, Almeida struggled to get Kane down to the canvas and ultimately came up short on the scorecards, suffering his first loss in MMA.

Almeida has not yet booked a return fight, but the setback has only served to fuel his desire to improve and bounce back en route to securing a future heavyweight MMA world title opportunity.