Marcus Buchecha is a legendary figure in Brazilian jiu jitsu circles who has also been making waves on the MMA scene under the ONE banner but he is now preparing to hop into the octagon. After posting up a 5-1 mixed martial arts record under the ONE banner with all first round finishes, Marcus 'Buchecha' Almeida entered a brief free agency period that saw him promptly sign on with the UFC.
Per a report from Marcel Dorff, Buchecha will be making his UFC debut in Abu Dhabi at the end of the month when Almeida does battle with Martin Buday on July 26th. The Slovak heavyweight has more localized MMA experience than Buchecha with Buday boasting an overall record of 15-2 heading into this bout.
The Oktagon veteran punched his ticket to the UFC's main stage with a Contender Series win in October 2021 and has since posted up a UFC specific record of 6-1 with Buday notching notable wins over Uran Satybaldiev Andrei Arlovski.
Marcus Buchecha's pedigree heading into his UFC debut
Marcus Buchecha is an exciting infusion of new blood into the UFC's heavyweight division for those who have been following his submission grappling exploits as well as his efforts inside the ONE circle. Buchecha is one of the most accomplished jiu jitsu players in history and has garnered a record of 13 IBJJF world championships at the black belt level.
Almeida also collected a pair of ADCC medals before deciding to mix the martial arts and pursue successes with the four ounce gloves on. The American Top Team product has only lost in MMA competition against eventual ONE heavyweight champion Oumar 'Reug Reug' Kane. Buchecha has halted some prominent names with the ONE heavyweight class as he has secured victories over the likes of Kang Ji Won and Amir Aliakbari.
While Buchecha is taking on an MMA fight here and he has in past expressed an interest to singularly pursue this MMA path going forward with the UFC relatively recently doing their big rollout for their UFC BJJ promotional branch, it's not difficult to foresee a future where Almeida could perhaps find opportunities on that circuit considering his laundry list of grappling credentials.
