“This little time we trained together was wonderful” - ‘Buchecha’ shares how his father supported his BJJ journey

Marcus 'Buchecha' Almeida's father can sit back and relax as he watches his son return to action against Kirill Grishenko at ONE on Prime Video 1 this Friday.

His dad, Clayton Ferreira, played a key role during the 32-year-old’s early steps into martial arts. Understandably, he will be proud to see how far his boy has come since he picked up Brazilian jiu-jitsu as a young teenager.

Though he never competed on world-renowned stages, his dad was the very individual who approved his kids' idea to give the grappling art a try. Ahead of his heavyweight bout on August 26, ‘Buchecha’ told ONE:

“My father liked it a lot because he knew where we were. He knew that we weren’t doing anything stupid. So, this little time we trained together was wonderful.”

After gaging his kids' interest in BJJ, Ferreira decided to train alongside them to keep them company while encouraging them to expand their knowledge in the grappling sport.

His commitment to ensuring his son followed his dreams helped ‘Buchecha’ achieve greatness. Even in a previous interview with the promotion in May, Almeida named his parents as his biggest inspiration.

He shared:

“My biggest role models in life were my parents. My father and mother always worked hard and did everything to give the best for me and my sister.”

The Brazilian is now an IBJJF Hall of Famer, owns a BJJ black belt, and is a 17-time world champion in the discipline.

‘Buchecha’ doesn’t plan on stopping there, though.

He wants to load up his trophy cabinet with a world title in MMA next. If he can clear his Belarusian opponent at American primetime this Friday, he could certainly gain a huge stepping stone towards a shot at the ONE heavyweight gold.

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‘Buchecha’ reveals his sister’s expertise in BJJ frustrated him

Besides his parents, Almeida's elder sister, Ana, has been his most ardent fan since he first stepped onto the mats.

The sport allowed them to bond together at a local gym in Sao Paulo, Brazil, while they were still in their teens.

After several lessons on the mats, Almeida soon showed a greater interest in BJJ, while his sister stepped away from the mats to focus on other career goals. But one of the reasons he was so determined to excel was because of how his sister used to force him to tap.

He recalled to ONE:

“In the first training sessions, she did well against me. She already knew the basics and was bigger than I was. Then, with the mastery of some techniques, she was able to beat me. It drove me crazy! I was a child. I didn’t want to be beaten by her at all.”