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As a 17-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion, Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida knows a good grappler when he sees one, and he knows that reigning ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion Mikey Musumeci is one of the best in the world.
Musumeci made history in September, becoming the first fighter to carry a submission grappling world title under the ONE Championship banner with a decisive victory over Cleber Sousa at ONE on Prime Video 2. In an interview with ONE Championship, ‘Buchecha’ said that he would never miss an event anytime Mikey Musumeci is in action.
“I wouldn’t miss a Mikey Musumeci fight."
Almeida elaborated on his comments, saying:
“Mikey Musumeci showed why he is the champion and why no one has taken the belt away from him. He showed jiu-jitsu that was beautiful to watch and very technical. Even if the guy is tough and doesn’t give up, the opponent will need to have something more to beat Mikey.”
Musumeci, also known as ‘Darth Rigatoni’ to his loyal fanbase, successfully defended his ONE flyweight title for the first time at ONE Fight Night 6 last month, delivering a dominant performance against the incredibly tough Combat Sambo world champion Gantumur Bayanduuren.
Like Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida, Musumeci is also undefeated inside the circle, earning three straight victories since making his promotional debut in April 2022 against grappling legend Masakazu Imanari.
‘Buchecha’ believes Anatony Malykhin’s time at the top is running out
Things are beginning to heat up in ONE Championship’s heavyweight division with the emergence of Marcus Almeida and reigning two-division ONE world champion Anatoly Malykhin over the last year. In an interview with MMA Hoje, ‘Buchecha’ believes he is nearing a heavyweight title opportunity and is ready to put his BJJ skills to the test against the Russian juggernaut.
“He’s good in wrestling and very good boxing, Almeida said of Malykhin’s skills. “Heavy hands, but we didn’t see his jiu-jitsu yet. No one really put his jiu-jitsu to the test yet. But it is what it is. You could be the best in the world. His clock is ticking, I’ll always trust my jiu-jitsu 100 percent.”
Malykhin currently shares the heavyweight throne with Arjan Bhullar as the ONE interim heavyweight titleholder, and the two behemoths will clear things up at ONE Fight Night 8 on March 24 when they finally clash to determine the undisputed ONE heavyweight king.
‘Buchecha’ will undoubtedly have his eyes locked on their heavyweight showdown in anticipation of facing the winner before 2023 comes to a close.
