Photo via ONE Championship PR
Who is Buchecha? ONE Championship’s Newest Big Signing
Earlier in the month, ONE Championship made a huge splash signing that gathered some hype. But to the layman, it may have went under the radar. The promotion announced the signing of two time ADCC champion and thirteen time Jiu Jitsu World Champion. So let’s take a little time to get you up to speed on Marcus Almeida, also known as Buchecha.
First of all, if you could not tell from the accolades above, Buchecha is a grappler, and a very good one at that. In the wake of his conquering of the jiu jitsu scene, he’s beat names like: Kron Gracie, Rodolfo Vieira, Gary Tonon, Dean Lister, Rafael Lovato Jr., among many others. Buchecha is well rounded as a grappler and has a nasty arm bar. But, he’s won matches via Ezekiel, triangle, heel hook, bow and arrow, brabo, and many other ways.
Buchecha is very talented in the no-gi discipline as well. In 2010, he defeated Gilbert Burns at the No Gi Worlds as well. It’s his success in no-gi has had many feel optimistic on the Brazilian’s success on transitioning mixed martial arts.
And he’s already had success. Buchecha actually already made his ONE Championship and MMA debut in September when he took on Anderson “Braddock” Silva. In his debut, Buchecha couldn’t have looked better. He took the kickboxer down and choked out Silva with a North-South choke in the first round. The fight was particularly interesting because of the stylistic nature of it all. It had a classic MMA feel to it pitting a jiu jitsu master versus a seasoned kickboxer. Buchecha shined in his debut and it wasn’t against a walk-over either.
The ONE Championship ruleset really helps Almeida as well, as we saw in the Silva fight. The grounded knees really showed you how dangerous he can be even before you consider the submission skills of the Brazilian. His knees were devastating and top pressure really plays into each other well.
Buchecha and Ji Wong Kang
Buchecha is wasting no time getting back into the cage with killers. At ONE Championship’s Winter Warriors event on December 3rd, Buchecha is getting back in the cage against Ji Wong Kang. Kang is 5-0 with five first round knockouts. According to Tapology, Kang is the second ranked heavyweight in the Asian Southeast region. He is wasting no time getting in the cage with killers. First Silva, who challenged Glory kickboxing champion Rico Verhoeven, and now Kang, a heavyweight powerhouse with the capabilities to put the lights out.
The Kang fight puts Buchecha in an interesting spot. He is taking on the toughest challengers. While he’s not challenging for the belt right off, he is taking on fights well before any MMA “prospect” is supposed to. Kang is a monster. Silva is killer on the feet. Buchecha wants all of them.
Buchecha takes the cage again and looks to add another win to his record and show the world he’s ready for even bigger and better challenges this early. Don’t miss the return of Marcus Almeida. It is the future of the sport.
