WATCH: ‘Buchecha’ breaks down his last-second victory over Erberth Santos for the 2016 IBJJF Absolute title

17-time BJJ world champion and ONE Championship's rising heavyweight MMA star Marcus 'Buchecha' Almeida recently made a breakdown of his historic victory over Erberth Santos at the Absolutes finals in the 2016 IBJJF World Championships. It was perhaps his most heart-stopping win in all of his legendary grappling career.

The nail-biting match happened a year after 'Buchecha' took a year off from competitive Brazilian Jiu-jitsu to undergo knee surgery. Accomplishing this marvelous feat was surely a memorable one for the grappling icon.

Here's a video of the match:

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In his breakdown video uploaded to his YouTube channel, 'Buchecha' opened up about what the match meant for him:

"About this fight, as you know, the year before [2015], I got an ninjury, I ahd to go through surgery. It was a really complicated part of my life. It changed my whole career and I had to go through a really difficult year of recovery, of training, and of insecurities and of doubts. But finally, the Worlds 2016 came and I was able to do it ."

Almeida continued:

"When I came to the fight, there was a lot in my head. It wasn't just one more final but was something really special because it was really emotional, especially after a long year that I had in the semifinal with Leandro [Lo]. That was the year that he let me go straight to the finals. So it was a lot in my head. A lot of emotion."

Watch the full breakdown here:

As was spoken in the beginning of the video, this was the tournament where Almeida's best friend, the late Leandro Lo, forfeited his slot in the Absolutes division so his comrade can compete in the finals. It wasn't just about accomplishing a 6th world title or winning in the Absolutes for the first time in his career - it was about the true spirit of sports and martial arts.

The bout and subsequent win itself was a poetic display of courage and heart as 'Buchecha' was caught in a leglock entanglement on the very same knee that he injured a year prior. After a lengthy mental battle where both competitors held on and waited for the other to make a sudden mistake, Almeida put the entire arena on its feet by winning the match with a hail-mary sweep in the last 20 seconds.

That, dear reader, is what they meant when they say "clutch" in professional sports.

About the author

Duane is an expert MMA writer at Sportskeeda with 15 years of experience working for the likes of Philippine Star, Esquire Philippines, Playboy Philippines, etc. A major in English, he has written over 2000 articles for Sportskeeda section, extensively covering UFC and boxing fights.

Duane is a practicing MMA fighter with a 11-7 record. He is also a Brazilian jiu-jitsu purple belt and trains Muay Thai. His connection with MMA dates back to 2005, when he turned into a fan after watching Fedor Emelianenko defeat Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ Filipovic at Pride FC - Final Conflict 2005.

Emelianenko finds himself right at the top of Duane’s Mt. Rushmore of MMA fighters, alongside other big names like Demetrious Johnson, Jon Jones, Georges St-Pierre, and Anderson Silva.

Duane’s love for the sport is reflected in his writings, where he believes in speculating but not insinuating. He uses his intensive knowledge and skills in MMA to provide unique insights to the readers, along with sourcing information only from reliable sources.

Outside of work, Duane enjoys martial arts training, visual arts, film criticism, video games, and creative writing.

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Edited by Taimoor Malik