Chael Sonnen talks about how Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida would "whip [his] a**"

Nowadays, former UFC veteran Chael Sonnen stands in awe whenever Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida is in the vicinity. However, there was a time when he did not know who the legendary Brazilian was.

In a recent YouTube video, Sonnen regailed viewers with a tale of how he first came to know about ‘Buchecha’ and how rolling the mats with the 17-time BJJ world champion was an unforgettable experience.

Chael Sonnen said:

“If I was to take you back to the year 2013, I also did not know who Marcus Buchecha was. I had heard that name though. I was working at Fox, and one of the people I was working with was Daniel Cormier. And Daniel Cormier said ‘Hey, let's go meet for a workout, but I'm gonna bring this guy in. We got to pay him 300 bucks for an hour. So let's put $150 each, and I can get Buchecha there.’”

Sonnen agreed to put up the money but had his reservations about the whole idea. He continued:

“I will share with you when you're at the level of Daniel Cormier — you don't pay people to come in and work out with you. People are lined up. So I did ask Daniel about that. I said, ‘Hey, man, I'm good for the 150. But why? Why are you paying him?’”

“And Daniel said, ‘Because he's so good he can't get anything out of the workout. He can't get anything from working out with me. It's a waste of his time. So I need to pay him for that time.’ Really? You're telling me there's a 23-year-old kid out there, who I'm not familiar with, who can whip your a** so bad, it's a waste of his time?’ Daniel says yeah, ‘He's gonna whip your a** just as bad, so just bring the $150 I'll meet you down.’”

---

Chael Sonnen doesn’t regret paying Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida to train with him

Chael Sonnen continued his story, and Cormier was absolutely right. ‘Buchecha’ was every bit as good as advertised.

The American MMA veteran said:

“Now this is just jiu-jitsu. But Buchecha stays in, and Daniel and I rotate on him for 44 minutes. He was worth every cent. I don't know how I got to work with that guy and only had to pay $150. He ran through us and believe me I'm not the guy that likes to come and tell those stories. I have an ego too.”

‘Buchecha’ is now signed to ONE Championship and competing in MMA as a heavyweight. He returns to action at ONE on Prime Video 1: Moraes vs. Johnson II to face former world title challenger Kirill Grishenko. The event will broadcast live from the Singapore Indoor Stadium and airs on US primetime via Amazon Prime Video on August 26.

Listen to Chael Sonnen's full-story below: