“I will kill him in my arms” - Kirill Grishenko looking for immediate rematch with ‘Buchecha’

Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida kept his undefeated streak alive with perhaps his most impressive victory yet. Stepping into the circle for the fourth time at ONE on Prime Video 1, the 17-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion met former interim heavyweight title challenger Kirill Grishenko at the highly anticipated event.

Many believed that the Belarusian’s striking would pose a significant threat to Almeida’s grapple heavy attack. Unfortunately for Grishenko, he would never get the opportunity to showcase his standup skills.

Just 64 seconds into the contest, ‘Buchecha’ scored the quickest victory of his career thus far with a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it heel hook submission following a brief exchange in the clinch.

Understandably upset with the loss, Kirill Grishenko admitted allowing things to go to the ground was a mistake while speaking to ONE Championship after the disappointing showing.

“There was only one chance in five that the fight would go like this and I made a mistake. What has happened cannot be changed. I was ready mentally and physically, but when Marcus was in his element, he immediately showed that he was a beast [on the ground]. My mistake is that I let him go to the ground."

While Grishenko has no ill will towards the Brazilian grappling superstar, the Belarusian striker doubled down on his belief that on the feet, he would “kill” ‘Buchecha’ inside the circle.

“I don’t want to talk bad about him. I respect him - 'Buchecha' is an excellent athlete, but my striking technique is an order of magnitude higher. I will kill him in my arms - this is 100%.”

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‘Buchecha’ believes he will be a world champion, but refuses to rush his career

Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida has been nothing short of impressive in his run as a mixed martial artist. With four fights under his belt, Almeida has a 100 percent finish rate, all coming in the very first round. The trend continued at ONE on Prime Video 1 when he defeated his toughest test yet against Belarusian Kirill Grishenko.

Following the victory, ONE Championship fans began to ask when Almeida would earn what seemed like an inevitable shot at the ONE heavyweight world title.

Speaking on MMA Fighting’s Trocação Franca podcast, Almeida suggested that he will be a world champion in the future, but has no intentions of rushing his MMA career, which is still in its infancy.

“I don’t know when, but [becoming champion] is definitely my goal. I have no rush, I got time. I just started in the sport two years ago. I can’t say when, but I will get there. I live one day at a time and only think about the today. I’m learning to live like this. You only have to live the today because sometimes the tomorrow never comes. My focus is on fighting now, and I think the rest will happen naturally.”