Marcus Almeida
ONE on TNT 2: Marcus “Buchecha” Almeida off of April 14th card
ONE on TNT 2 will no longer feature the mixed martial arts debut of decorated BJJ player Buchecha.
Marcus Almeida, known widely as Buchecha, had been targeted to make his promotional debut with ONE Championship on their April 14th card.
Buchecha was lined up for a heavyweight bout against Ji Won Kang. But a withdrawal took place as a result of injuries Kang suffered while defeating Amir Aliakbari in their March contest.
The organization attempted to find a short-notice replacement for the bout. But alas that was not to be for Almeida. MMA Fighting was the first to report on these latest developments.
ONE on TNT 2
Sources close to the situation have indicated that the Kang vs Almeida bout could simply be rescheduled. Just a matter of moving the prizefight to a later card in the calendar year.
Almeida has been getting in some great work at both Evolve MMA and American Kickboxing Academy. Steadfastly preparing ahead of this inaugural mixed martial arts foray.
When I spoke with Buchecha after news of his ONE Championship signing broke, he detailed all of the great work he has gotten in at AKA over the years. This includes working with Daniel Cormier for his final camp ahead of the Stipe Miocic rubber match.
There are few submission grapplers with the type of resume that Marcus Buchecha Almeida has put together. Almedia has captured so many gold medals and world championship distinctions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu that it cemented a place for him in the Guinness World Records.
With the backdrop of grappling savant Gordon Ryan signing with ONE and also looking to make the crossover to MMA, it’s an exciting time in the ever-expanding ONE heavyweight division.
Perhaps we can see a future scenario involving Almeida and Ryan running things back but in an MMA context.
Who do you think emerges victorious if Almeida vs Kang goes down for Buchecha’s MMA debut?
