“She even has a tattoo of me on her arm” - ‘Buchecha’ says older sister is his number one fan

As the youngster was just starting in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida discussed in detail how his sister would regularly beat him when the two would train together in their early days. Fast forward to the present day and Almeida is a 17-time BJJ world champion with an undefeated record in mixed martial arts.

Just days out from his return to the Circle at ONE on Prime Video 1 on Friday, ‘Buchecha’ sat down to talk about his family and the support he gets, specifically from his sister who used to regularly dominate him while practicing at home.

“I think my sister is my number 1 fan. She’s always really enjoyed following my career closely. Unfortunately, she couldn't follow any World Championships in California, which was her dream. She even has a tattoo of me on her arm [laughs]. I think she and my mom are my biggest fans. In MMA, the same thing. My sister keeps cheering, watching, and screaming. She definitely gives me great support. And it is very important to have this support that I have from her and my family.”

‘Buchecha’ also spoke about his 13-year-old nephew, who recently found his love for jiu-jitsu.

“She has a 13-year-old son and he is also training jiu-jitsu. He fell in love with jiu-jitsu. He's at yellow belt. So, I'm very happy to see him continuing that legacy. It took a while, but something happened that sparked this passion for jiu-jitsu in him just like it happened to me.“

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‘Buchecha’ gives much of the credit for his success to his sister

After amassing 138 career submission grappling victories and multiple BJJ world championships, the Brazilian grappling sensation transitioned to mixed martial arts less than a year ago. He made his ONE Championship debut in September 2021. Over the next nine months, ‘Buchecha’ would fight three times and dispatch all three opponents in the very first round.

Almeida has been nothing short of dominant in the early stages of his career. Speaking to ONE, Almeida gives a lot of credit to his sister who got a jump start on him in training as they were kids.

“She doesn't talk much about it [laughs]. But when she sees me in a nice place, or traveling, or when something nice is happening and I'm happy, she jokes and says that I owe her everything, that if it wasn't for her, I would never have known jiu-jitsu. In a way, it's true. I laugh and agree with her. But if we fought today, she would end up winning. She has that right.”