Multi-time BJJ world champion Marcus Almeida returns this August at ONE 161
ONE Championship has a pair of back-to-back events slated in August; ONE 160 going down on August 26, headlined by a lightweight championship rematch between ONE lightweight champion Ok Rae Yoon and former champion Christian Lee, and ONE 161 going down on August 27, headlined by another championship rematch, this one in the flyweight division between ONE flyweight champion Adriano Moraes and former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson.
Also going down at ONE 161 is a heavyweight clash, as 32-year-old Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu legend Marcus Almeida looks to secure his fourth professional victory over Kirill Grishenko, who has twice as much MMA experience as himself coming in.
Marcus Almeida has gone 3-0 thus far into his MMA career coming in, debuting in September of last year, and most recently competing in June at ONE 158, and he’s finished all three of his opponents (one knockout, two submission) in the first round thus far into his career.
Kirill Grishenko on the other hand has gone 5-1 (three knockout, one submission, one decision) thus far into his career, and is coming off a defeat to 10-0 interim ONE heavyweight champion Anatoliy Malykhin in their title bout back in February.
The bright side for him, he’s presumably the better striker of the two, and he hasn’t been submitted in MMA competition, yet.
Almeida is perhaps the most decorated BJJ practitioner in the sport of mixed martial arts today.
We used to say that about current UFC middleweight talent Rodolfo Vieira, back before Almeida made his debut in mixed martial arts.
But we can’t make that claim anymore, as Almeida has gone 5-1 against Vieira through six matches in BJJ competition, winning the last five.
Not only that, but he’s defeated the likes of Antonio Braga Neto, Kron Gracie, Marcio Cruz, Claudio Calasans, Leandro Lo, Bernardo Faria, Andre Galvao, Tarsis Humphreys, Roberto Abreu, Garry Tonon, Dean Lister, Victor Estima, Keenan Cornelius, Felipe Pena, Eliot Marshall, Rafael Lovato Jr, Alexandre Ribeiro, and Nicholas Meregali, amongst others.
Every last one of them is a high-level black belt, a multi-time world BJJ champion, and he defeated a number of them on more than one occasion. Almeida is a true great in the grappling world, and it’s very exciting to see he’s transitioned to MMA.
Marcus Almeida’s BJJ Accolades: 95kg (209 lbs), 100 kg (220 lbs), & Absolute Divisions
- Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu record: 128-13-1 (started out 8-5, has gone 120-8-1 since)
- Two-time ADCC gold medalist (2013, 2017)
- Two-time ADCC silver medalist (2013, 2019)
- Two-time ADCC bronze medalist (2017, 2019)
- 13-time World Championships gold medalist (2012 x2, 2013 x2, 2014 x2, 2016 x2, 2017 x2, 2018, 2019 x2)
- Two-time World Championships silver medalist (2011, 2018)
- One-time World Championships bronze medalist (2011)
- Six-time World Cup gold medalist (2012, 2013, 2014 x2, 2015 x2)
- One-time World Cup silver medalist (2013)
- Two-time World Gran Prix gold medalist (2016, 2017)
- Two-time No-Gi World Championship gold medalist (2011 x2)
- One-time No-Gi World Championship silver medalist (2010)
- Four-time Pan American Championships gold medalist (2011, 2012, 2013 x2)
- One-time Pan American Championships silver medalist (2012)
- One-time Pan American Championships bronze medalist (2011)
Does Marcus Almeida improve to 4-0 at ONE 161?
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