‘Buchecha’ says the art of jiu-jitsu has come full circle in MMA

Mixed martial arts is constantly evolving as a sport, and Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida believes that jiu-jitsu is back in the limelight of combat sports.

When MMA first became a sport, the Gracie family and their brand of Brazilian jiu-jitsu captivated fans, proving that size and strength are not the most dominant or important factors in a battle.

Though it has come a long way since then, with plenty of styles and techniques taking charge over the past couple of decades to the sport that we see in 2023, Almeida remains confident that ‘the gentle art’ is slowly getting the love it thoroughly deserves.

As one of the best grapplers on the planet, there aren’t many fighters on the planet that can compete with the Brazilian if and when the heavyweight contender takes the fight to the mat.

Through his undefeated run since transitioning to MMA, no one has had an answer for Almeida’s elite submission skills so far, which is why he has secured four consecutive first-round finishes.

At ONE Fight Night 13 on August 4, he will step back inside the Circle to face ‘Reug Reug’ Oumar Kane in search of his fifth consecutive win.

And as an avid fight fan himself, he simply can’t help but notice how his bread and butter has come full circle in MMA.

In an appearance on the JAXXON PODCAST, ‘Buchecha’ said:

“I feel like back in the day it was jiu-jitsu, back when Royce Gracie, then of course jiu-jitsu changed everything, and then we had a time when everything was changing, and everybody was striking a lot. And then, those guys show up, like GSP, they were really good strikers, brawlers, but really good grapplers. So they dominated for years. Couple of years later, back to the striking, and now I see grappling is [becoming] the good thing again.”

Watch the full podcast clip below:

ONE Fight Night 13 will air live and free for North American viewers with an active Amazon Prime Video membership on August 4.