“This is the place to be” - ‘Buchecha’ recalls the reason why he chose American Top Team as his main gym

Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida recently opened up about his transition to MMA and why he decided to train at American Top Team.

Before becoming a top-tier heavyweight MMA fighter, ‘Buchecha’ solidified himself as a BJJ legend by winning 17 world titles. The transition to MMA hasn’t been easy, but the Brazilian has continued to evolve into a potential world title contender.

During an interview on the JAXXON PODCAST, Almeida had this to say about his journey from submission grappling to MMA:

“I’m a Gi fighter [at the time], so I learned fighting the Gi. So, I took my Gi off, fought No-Gi, so I ended up winning two ADCC.l. Now I have to test my jiu-jitsu in a real fight like MMA.

“Even if I not become an MMA fighter, I need to test myself in MMA, so I’m going to start training. I remember I went to San Jose, that was DC’s [Daniel Cormier] last camp, and I went there to just be in the camp a little bit. I didn’t train with DC in MMA, but jiu-jitsu, of course I train with him a little bit.”

‘Buchecha’ followed that up by explaining why he trains at American Top Team in South Florida:

“Then I went to all the gyms to test it out and ended up liking [American Top Team] in Florida. That’s where I train right now because it was so hard to find heavyweights… So, I went there one Monday, I show up, ten heavyweights train. I said, my God, this is the place to be.”

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What is Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida’s professional MMA record?

Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida’s professional MMA career has been exclusively under the ONE Championship banner. The BJJ legend made his promotional/professional debut in September 2021, defeating Anderson ‘Braddock’ Silva by first-round submission.

Almeida quickly climbed the ONE heavyweight MMA ladder with three more wins ending in round one. On August 4, the Brazilian’s undefeated run was halted due to a unanimous decision in a matchup against ‘Reug Reug’ Oumar Kane.

In 2024, Almeida plans to bounce back and accomplish his goal of becoming the ONE heavyweight MMA king.