“I got my own problems” – Buchecha weighs in on jiu-jitsu’s Gordon Ryan-Nicky Rodriguez rivalry

No-Gi Brazilian Jiujitsu rivals Gordon Ryan and Nicky Rodriguez

ONE heavyweight MMA fighter and 17-time jiu-jitsu world champion Marcus 'Buchecha' Almeida recently appeared in MMA legend 'Rampage' Jackson's talk show, Jaxxon Podcast, on YouTube.

The BJJ legend brushed on a few topics, such as his illustrious career as a submission grappler and the overall state of Jiujitsu today. One important topic 'Buchecha' and 'Rampage' discussed is the ongoing rivalry between No-Gi Jiujitsu GOAT Gordon 'The King' Ryan and 'The Blackbelt Slayer' Nicky Rodriguez.

Ryan and Rodriguez are former teammates in the now-defunct Jiujitsu superteam, Danaher Death Squad. The two faced each other on two separate occasions, with Ryan coming out on top on both.

Almeida has encountered the two world champion grapplers both in the training room and the competitive mats. On the Ryan-Rodriguez rivalry and the drama that spilled over on the mats and social media, 'Buchecha' said:

“To be honest, I don't even know. I know they were like teammates, and they were like good friends, and then they split. But being honest I don't really know the reason so yeah. I got my own problems to try to deal with and not other people's problems. So yeah I know they have a lot of beef in the internet and talking back and forth, but that’s about it.”

Watch the full podcast here:

'Buchecha' spoke about the possibility of receiving his coral belt in the future

One of the more interesting bits of the conversation with 'Rampage' was the possibility of 'Buchecha' receiving the prestigious coral belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

To the uninitiated, the "coral belt" is the seventh-degree blackbelt in BJJ. It's awarded to a select few masters who have been active as a black belt in the martial art for over 30 years. As of this writing, only 30 coral belts have been awarded in BJJ so far.

On receiving the coral belt, Almeida said:

“I don't even know how to get it. I think you need to have like 30 years of black belt or something like that. So I think maybe when I reach 50 something or 51. I don't know how that works, I never think that far, you know. I don't even know what I’m going to have.”