“In the future” - BJJ legend Buchecha keen on competing in ONE submission grappling matches

Marcus 'Buchecha' Almeida is on a steady rise in ONE Championship's heavyweight ranks. Being largely considered the most successful Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) competitor in history, 'Buchecha' has used his unstoppable grappling in full-blown cage fighting.

While ONE is now showcasing submission grappling with its events, Almeida is adamant that he wants to focus on MMA right now. He isn't, however, closing the door to returning to his submission grappling roots.

In an interview with ONE Championship, the 13-time BJJ world champion and current ONE MMA fighter briefly spoke about the possibility of competing in submission grappling with the organization:

"ONE is taking the sport to another level and I'm really happy to be part of it all in some way. For sure, in the future, I will participate in grappling fights too."

What Almeida said about ONE Championship may be correct. The Asian martial arts organization is definitely trying to take the sport of submission grappling to a level that's never been on before.

Perhaps the BJJ icon is gunning for the ONE heavyweight MMA world title first and will try to capture the heavyweight submission grappling belt later. That's going to be something to see - Almeida atop two different combat sports at the same time.

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'Buchecha' made short work of Kirill Grishenko at ONE on Prime Video

Back in August of this year, at ONE on Prime Video 1, Marcus 'Buchecha' Almeida debuted in US prime time in a big way. The BJJ icon took on former ONE interim heavyweight world title challenger, Kirill Grishenko.

Right away, Almeida surprised Grishenko with a quick and powerful leg-kick that put the Belarusian on his back. After briefly showcasing his newly-developed stand-up game, Almeida dove in for his signature double-leg takedown.

Though the initial shot was unsuccessful, the Brazilian grappler expertly transitioned to an Ashi Garami leglock.

From there, it was academic. Almeida locked in a tight heel hook to get the tap in one of the fastest submissions in ONE Championship's heavyweight division. The 13-time BJJ world champion won a $50k performance bonus for his efforts and dedicated his win to his best friend, the late jiu-jitsu icon Leandro Lo. Almeida spoke about it in an emotion-filled post-fight speech:

Almeida's next steps in his MMA career are yet to be determined as of this writing. Whether he fights a higher-profile fighter or goes straight for the belt, we are sure the grappling icon will bring an inspired performance in memory of his fallen friend.