‘Buchecha’ not letting late start in MMA impede potential legend: “I wanna do something great”

Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida believes his late start in MMA won’t prevent him from becoming a legend.

‘Buchecha’ made his MMA debut in September 2021 after solidifying himself as a BJJ legend with seventeen world championships. Since then, Almeida has proven he can be an MMA world champion in ONE by securing four consecutive first-round finishes.

During an appearance on the Money Moicano Podcast, the 33-year-old submission specialist had this to say about achieving greatness in MMA:

“It's different. Of course, I'm not really young. I'm 33 years old. So to do the same thing in MMA, I know, of course, I should have started earlier. But of course, I still have time, and of course I wanna do something great. It's going to be hard to do the same greatness that I did in jiu-jitsu.”

Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida started his MMA journey with wins against Anderson ‘Braddock’ Silva, Kang Ji Won, and Simon Carson. In August 2022, he made a statement in his latest bout by securing a first-round submission against former interim world title challenger Kirill Grishenko.

On August 4, Almeida returns to action for his fifth ONE Championship. The BJJ legend has been matched up against the always-dangerous ‘Reug Reug’ Oumar Kane, which will take place at ONE Fight Night 13. ‘Reug Reug’ holds a promotional record of 4-1, including his current two-fight win streak.

There will be added stakes for ‘Buchecha’ vs. ‘Reug Reug,’ as the winner could potentially earn a heavyweight world title shot against Anatoly Malykhin.

ONE Fight Night 13, featuring two world championship bouts and the highly-anticipated heavyweight matchup, can be seen live and for free by North American Prime Video subscribers.