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Seventeen-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida returned to the circle in the ONE on Prime Video 1 main card. Aiming for his fourth-straight victory, he faced an accomplished wrestler and heavy-handed striker in Kirill Grishenko. It is the biggest test thus far for Almeida, who could be knocking on the door of a world title opportunity with a victory over the former ONE interim world title challenger.
Coming into the opening round, Almeida immediately threw a leg kick that knocked Grishenko off his feet. Looking keen to test his striking, ‘Buchecha’ shot in for a takedown at the one-minute mark. Immediately grabbing Grishenko’s leg, Almeida locked in a heel hook, forcing the Belarusian behemoth to tap out just 64 seconds into the bout.
Following the bout, Marcus Almeida spoke with Mitch Chilson inside the circle to discuss the fight:
“Yeah, to be honest, that wasn’t the plan. I shot for a takedown, but I kind of lost my balance and I saw the leg was there and a lot of people think 'Buchecha' can’t take me down.’ Who said I can’t take somebody down? I trust my jiu-jitsu. The second time I knew this could happen and I’m so happy. I’m glad the job’s done.”
‘Buchecha’ reveals he suffered a tragedy just weeks before ONE on Prime Video 1
Speaking to Chilson, an emotional ‘Buchecha’ revealed that he had recently lost a close friend. Earlier this month, multi-time BJJ world champion Leandro Lo passed away after he was fatally shot in the head following an altercation at a party in São Paulo, Brazil. He said in the post-fight interview:
“It’s hard to say, hard to talk, but these last three weeks were the hardest time of my life. I lost one of my best friends. The guy was a brother to me. Lost in a tragic way, so for sure, he’s up there, he’s in the sky. He would be mad at me because of giving up my dreams because of him. I know he’s up there celebrating my victory.”
When asked if there was anyone that he would like to face next in the heavyweight division, Almeida opted to live in the moment rather than concern himself tomorrow.
“To be honest, I didn’t even know how I did it, keep this three weeks of training. I was crying every single day. I don’t know how I did it, these three weeks of training. My coaches saw me, I was training and crying every single day. I don’t know how I did it. I learned with him we have to live life. He always told me life is now., so I just want to think about today. About tomorrow, he taught us it might never come so I worry about today.”
Before they parted ways, Chilson also informed 'Buchecha' that he had earned a $50,000 bonus for his incredible finish at ONE on Prime Video 1.
