Marcus 'Buchecha' Almeida returns to face former ONE title challenger Kirill Grishenko

Certified finishers Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida and Kirill Grishenko are scheduled for a huge heavyweight matchup on one of ONE Championship’s two cards in August.

The two big men will duke it out at ONE 161: Moraes vs. Johnson II on August 26. The event is set to be broadcast from the Singapore Indoor Stadium, and streams live at US prime time via Amazon Prime Video.

Almeida and Grishenko are two of the best heavyweights in ONE Championship and a win for either is sure to bring them closer to world title contention.

‘Buchecha’ is already considered one of the greatest Brazilian jiu-jitsu players of all time. He is a legend who has amassed a professional record of 138-14-1, winning 17 BJJ world titles in the process.

He’s since made a successful transition into mixed martial arts, going 3-0 with all three of his wins being finishes. Almeida has used his BJJ to great effect. with his first two wins coming by way of submission.

Grishenko, meanwhile, is a natural mixed martial artist with five wins under his belt. Earlier this year, he competed against Anatoly Malykhin for the ONE interim heavyweight world title, but lost via second-round knockout.

The Belarusian brawler is one of the most dangerous heavyweights in the world. But unlike Almeida, he utilizes his striking more than his grappling. Grishenko has four finishes to his name, with three of those wins ending in a knockout.

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‘Buchecha’ looks to extend streak, Grishenko wants to get back in the win column at ONE 161

These two heavyweights are on differing spectrums in terms of winning.

Almeida is riding a three-fight winning streak and he wants nothing more than to extend that perfect run to four fights.

The Brazilian grappling legend has already caught the attention of ONE heavyweight world champion Arjan Bhullar and ONE interim heavyweight world champion Anatoly Malykhin.

After securing two straight submission wins, Almeida went to his striking arsenal and knocked out Australian veteran Simon Carson in the first round of their match last month.

Grishenko, meanwhile, was riding a five-fight winning streak when he took on Malykhin for the interim heavyweight belt. It was Malykhin, however, who scored the second-round knockout win in their meeting this past February.

Needless to say, a win for both fighters will be huge.

‘Buchecha’ can extend his amazing run in his new sport and possibly move closer to a fight for the world title. Grishenko, on his part, can recover from his devastating loss to Malykhin and work his way back up the heavyweight ladder.