Fans react to Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida’s ‘back-to-basics’ workout routine

BJJ phenom Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida is getting in shape for something big, and to do so, he’s keeping it simple.

In a video posted to ONE Championship’s Instagram account, ‘Buchecha’ is seen exercising outdoors with an earthen contraption designed to work the entire upper body system. Take a look at the device and the Brazilian fighter’s feat of strength:

The outdoor earth-made gym seems to be utilizing a pulley to attach a wooden ladder to a basket full of stones. There’s no way to know how much the rocks weigh, but it’s safe to say it’s a lot of weight.

Fans on Instagram admired the BJJ world champion’s incredible strength, with one fan issuing a challenge:

Enter caption

Enter caption

Enter caption

@n.souzac gave regular encouragement to exercise buffs, saying:

“No excuses”

@vahid_m_88 believes ‘Buchecha’ will repeat his success in Brazilian jiu-jitsu in MMA, saying:

“BJJ Legend will be MMA legend”

@kingamiraliakbari, a fan account of fellow ONE heavyweight fighter Amir Aliakbari, challenged Marcus Almeida to a fight:

“Almeida will be invincible until he faces Amir, so give us Buchecha if you think he’s too strong”

With both heavyweights nearing the top of the division, that’s a fight that could potentially happen this year with Arjan Bhullar and Anatoly Malykhin fighting to unify the belt this March.

Almeida is currently 4-0 in MMA with ONE Championship, finishing each opponent in the first round. After submitting his last foe with a heel hook in roughly a minute, there’s likely a big fight with potential title implications on the horizon for the Brazilian.

---

Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida hopes to see an openweight division added to ONE’s grappling series

While currently all-in on MMA, multi-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion Marcus Almeida hopes to return to his roots at some point for ONE Championship.

Currently, the promotion doesn’t have a heavyweight division for grapplers, focusing instead on lighter weight classes. He has a solution that he hopes to see ONE implement, and spoke in an interview with the promotion gave his two cents about his idea:

“An openweight of submission grappling is something that makes a lot of sense. I’m a guy who’s always been into fighting at weight and openweight, and I’ve always liked the openweight concept, with the chance for champions from other divisions to face each other. The absolute champion is the best of the year.”

The idea of openweight competitions isn’t foreign to ONE Championship.

Later this spring, ONE will host a massive Openweight Muay Thai World Grand Prix, featuring 16 of the best strikers from across the globe. A grappling openweight division or tournament of some kind is probably even more normal for grapplers to participate in than strikers.