“I need to pass all the tests” - Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida taking his MMA career step by step

ONE on Prime Video 1 on August 26 brings us an absolutely stacked lineup of fights, including the return of Marcus 'Buchecha' Almeida to the circle. Coming off of his third straight win against Simon Carson at ONE 158, the 17-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion is gearing up to face Belarusian heavyweight Kirill Grishenko.

Grishenko is determined to get back into the win column following his first MMA loss at the hands of Anatoly Malykhin in their bout for the ONE interim heavyweight world title. Putting a stop to the Brazilian legend’s win streak will certainly help keep him in the hunt for another shot at gold.

While speaking to ONE Championship, ‘Buchecha’ discussed his upcoming clash with the former world title challenger:

“[Grishenko is] a great fighter with a lot of experience in his wrestling background. So, it’s going to be a really interesting one because it’s going to be the first wrestler that I will fight. If I [want to] get the belt one day, I need to pass all the tests. So he’s going to be a huge one, and I’m excited.”

Almeida has been vocal about taking his time moving up the ladder in ONE Championship. After three straight first-round finishes, one could argue ‘Buchecha’ is already primed for a title shot. However, the Brazilian grappling superstar is avoiding any potential setbacks by biting off more than he can chew.

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‘Buchecha’ won’t rush to the top of the mountain, but he’s already looking up at it

Despite his incredible accolades in submission grappling, Marcus Almeida’s MMA career is still in its infancy. However, in just three fights, ‘Buchecha’ has looked like an absolute world beater who could find himself up for a world title opportunity soon, should he want it.

For now, Almeida is happy to continue working his way to the top and putting his skills to the test.

Speaking to ONE Championship, Almedia shared his observations about the upcoming ONE heavyweight world title unification clash between Arjan Bhullar and Anatoly Malykhin.

“Man, it’s hard to say because I didn’t see much. I think I saw more Arjan fights, because of when he used to fight in the old events. So I didn’t see much of Anatoly’s wrestling, but what I see is that Arjan is really good and I know he used to train at AKA.”

Arjan Bhullar shared the news on his Instagram page that he and Anatoly Malykhin are finally slated to square off. However, no official event or date has been announced by ONE Championship as of yet.