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Brazilian powerhouse Marcus 'Buchecha' Almeida has been living in the United States for over a decade. With that in mind, the rising heavyweight contender would love to fight on ONE Championship's first North American card in May.
The 33-year-old has been flawless since transitioning to MMA in 2021, earning four first-round finishes inside the circle. 'Buchecha' would like to secure his fifth victory on American soil, telling SCMP MMA:
"100 percent. I have lived in America for 13 years. I got my citizenship, so I’m half Brazilian-American now. It’s like that. So for me to fight on the U.S. card would be awesome because I have a lot of fans in the United States [and] because I’ve been fighting there for so long in my jiu-jitsu career. I have barely fought in Brazil since I moved to America."
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The heavyweight continued, saying:
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"It’s been like two or three times in 13 years, that’s how much. All the other fights have been in the U.S. For MMA, all my MMA fights have been in Singapore. I have a lot of fans in America so it would be great to fight where I live right now. For sure, that would be great. That would be a perfect world."
ONE Championship will make its North American debut at ONE Fight Night 10 on Prime Video in May. The card is scheduled to be headlined by flyweight king Demetrious Johnson and top contender Adriano Moraes.
'Buchecha' believes he's in line to earn a heavyweight title shot in the near future
Marcus 'Buchecha' Almeida has looked unstoppable since signing with ONE. Many believe his four straight opening-round finishes have him in a prime position to challenge for heavyweight gold soon — and the Brazilian agrees.
In the same interview, he said:
“I'm sure I'm getting closer to my goal, which is to fight for the title and win the belt. I have four fights and four wins.”
He added:
“Among the heavyweights, I'm the guy who's been fighting the most, so I'm on the right track. I'm sure I'll get this chance to fight for the belt soon.”
Unbeaten Russian star Anatoly Malykhin currently holds the interim belt after starching Reinier de Ridder last December. He's expected to face champion Arjan Bhullar in a title unification bout this March.
Catch ONE Fight Night 10 on May 5 to watch the promotion's first-ever event held in the United States, live from the 1stBank Center in Colorado.
Check out Marcus 'Buchecha' Almeida's full interview with SCMP MMA below:
