“I live for today” - ‘Buchecha’ talks about the greatest lesson he learned from friend Leandro Lo

17-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida learned a lot of life lessons from his late friend Leandro Lo, who tragically passed away a couple of weeks ago.

The 32-year-old streaking ONE Championship heavyweight maintained a close relationship with Lo throughout the years, and was saddened by the sudden death of his Brazilian countryman.

Lo took a fatal gunshot to the head following an altercation with a man at a party in São Paulo earlier this month.

In a recent interview with ONE Championship, ‘Buchecha’ was in tears as he recalled what he learned from Lo:

“This was a lesson I learned from a friend of mine, who was one of the most important people in my life and who taught me a lot. He taught me to live today, the present, and live intensely. He's gone, but he taught me a lot. And that's what I bring to my life, not only what he taught me, but many other things, so I'm thinking about today, living intensely like there's no tomorrow. I don't worry about tomorrow. I live for today, I live for now, because life is now.”

Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida returns to action and will look to keep his ublemished record when he faces former ONE world title challenger Kirill Grishenko at ONE on Prime Video 1: Moraes vs. Johnson II.

The event will be broadcast live from the Singapore Indoor Stadium and airs via Prime Video on August 26 at US primetime.

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Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida content with living life in the moment

While the past and the future are both important for Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida, the 32-year-old, who trains out of American Top Team in Florida, believes that living life in the present is the most important.

After years of competing at the top of the Brazilian jiu-jitsu ranks, earning his reputation as arguably the most accomplished BJJ fighter of all time, Almeida has now shifted his focus towards a budding career in mixed martial arts.

Heading into the fight with Grishenko at ONE on Prime Video 1, ‘Buchecha’ brings with him a perfect 3-0 record in the circle, with all three coming by way of spectacular first-round finishes.

Speaking to ONE, ‘Buchecha’ said that despite his success, he’s not looking to rush things in his career.

“When I was a blue belt in jiu-jitsu, my dream was to be a world champion at a blue belt. When I was at a purple belt, my dream was to be a world champion at a purple belt, and so it was at brown belt. Of course, the big goal was to be world champion at black belt, but before that, we have some stages. So Kirill Grishenko is my next step. I don't think after him. I live for today, without suffering thinking about tomorrow. If we think about the past, we get depressed. If we think about the future, we are very anxious.”