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Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida can’t wait to witness how the rivalry between ONE bantamweight world champion John Lineker and gutsy challenger Fabricio Andrade unfolds in the main event of ONE on Prime Video 3.
After getting at each other’s throats for the past few weeks, the pair of Brazilian killers will finally come to blows in ONE’s third serving in US primetime this year.
As far as ‘Buchecha’ is concerned, there will be a changing of the guard in the 145-pound ranks on October 21 at Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
In a ONE Championship interview, the heavyweight Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace aired his belief that ‘Wonder Boy’ will dethrone Lineker and even become the first fighter to knock him out in the process:
“I believe he can become champion. But I'm 100% percent sure this fight won't go to the end. Someone will be knocked out first. And I think that the one who will win this fight is Fabrício Andrade.”
Andrade has been on a scintillating roll as of late, wreaking havoc during his ascent in the bantamweight division.
The 25-year-old, who boasts of an eight-and-two record, remains unbeaten in the circle in his first five fights and has finished his last three opponents by way of scary first-round finishes.
‘Buchecha’, meanwhile, is on a similar hot streak after winning all four of his MMA bouts in the first round. He certainly appreciates Andrade’s body of work and believes the gold strap is his for the taking.
Then again, we all know Lineker won’t make it easy for him. The one-punch KO savant has proven time and time again that his destructive power is second to none.
His last three opponents all suffered the same fate, as ‘Hands of Stone’ lived up to his moniker by demolishing Kevin Belingon, Troy Worthen, and former world champion Bibiano Fernandes in the most brutal of ways.
‘Buchecha’ praises Rodrigo Marello for his record-setting 15-second submission win
Apart from his compatriots Lineker and Andrade, ‘Buchecha’ is also keeping tabs on another up-and-coming Brazilian.
Given his credentials as one of the best Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) practitioners of all time, the 32-year-old grappling wizard was in awe of ONE’s unearthed gem, Rodrigo Marello.
The once relatively unknown fighter introduced himself big time at ONE 161 last month, after needing just 15 seconds to submit Sambo specialist Ruslan Bagdasarian in their bantamweight submission grappling match.
'Duginho' executed a flawless technique to lock in a straight ankle lock that had the Russian screaming in pain as he tapped.
‘Buchecha’, whose last win against Kirill Grishenko came by way of a similar heel hook attack, appreciated Marello’s grappling superiority and savage ferocity:
“Getting a quick finish is the perfect scenario. In 15 seconds, even better [laughs]. This shows that your game is fine-tuned and so are your submissions. You have 10 minutes to finish, and you know how much time you have to work. You have 10 minutes to prove that you are better than your opponent. When I see a quick submission like that, I know how difficult it is, because that's what I always look for in my fights too.”
