Marcus “Buchecha” Almeida once again impressed in his return to the ONE Championship Circle, tallying his fourth straight victory in scintillating fashion.
“Buchecha” needed only 64 seconds to submit former ONE Heavyweight World Title challenger Kirill Grishenko in their clash at ONE Fight Night 1: Moraes vs. Johnson II this past Saturday, August 27, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
The Brazilian was impressive again, opening with a stinging leg kick before taking the match to the ground and finishing his opponent with a heel hook.
What made it more impressive was how Buchecha found the will to compete even after losing his close friend, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu great Leandro Lo, who was murdered in Brazil in early August.
“I think it was the hardest three weeks of my life. It was too much pressure, too much going on in my head. I want to clear my head a little bit,” he said in a post fight interview.
Emotions overcame “Buchecha” the moment he was interviewed by Mitch Chilson, as he dedicated the win to his fallen friend.
For Buchecha, the only way he could’ve honored his brother was by pushing through and competing, knowing that it was what Leandro would’ve wanted.
“I think that’s what he would want me to do – to keep fighting, to keep living my life. That’s the one thing that drives me to keep going,” he said.
“I feel blessed to have the opportunity that I have. Not just to be fighting in ONE Championship, but to be doing what I love in my life. That’s something that I learned lately. We have to enjoy it as much as we can, because you never know what will happen. And maybe tomorrow never comes.”
With four straight wins in The Home of Martial Arts, Buchecha is ready to take the next step in his career as he has the ONE Heavyweight World Title in his crosshairs.
He’s still not sure whether he’s going to face ONE Interim Heavyweight World Champion Antaoly Malykhin or ONE Heavyweight World Champion Arjan Bhullar next, but whoever it is, he vows to be ready.
“I can’t wait for [Malykhin and Bhullar to unify the belts], and soon I’m going to have my chance to fight one of them. My time will come eventually. So I don’t worry about that. Like I said, I live for today,” he said.