Marcus “Buchecha” Almeida picked up his second mixed martial arts victory at ONE: Winter Warriors and the Brazilian looked incredible in the process. The multiple-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Champion took “Mighty Warrior” Kang Ji Won down with ease and submitted him to jump right into the thick of the heavyweight hunt.
Malykhin Calls Out Buchecha
Buchecha’s grappling credentials do not make him your typical young mixed martial artist. He is not just a specialist in one area of the game either, as he is an icon of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. His accolades give him a larger platform and one that he has lived up to thus far inside ONE Championship’s Circle.
And he has already caught the attention of one of the top heavyweight contenders, Anatoly Malykhin.
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The Russian stands on the precipice of a title shot, but he is already calling out Buchecha.
Following the Brazilian’s victory over Kang, Malykhin made a video to call out Buchecha. And he did not mince words.
Malykhin said while making the call out, “I kill you, Buchecha. I kill you.”
Should they meet, Almeida will not shy away from the striking. He has embraced learning the stand-up game to help adapt his world-class submission skills into mixed martial arts.
“I’m training a lot. I’m not scared to be on my feet, because I think, as an MMA fighter, you have to be comfortable in every aspect of the fight,” Buchecha told ONE after his victory.
“That’s the magic of this sport. You have to think fast and mix everything. It’s mixed martial arts.”
As for Malykhin, the Brazilian isn’t zeroing in on him specifically. The American Top Team representative is in no rush to pick out any one man for his next bout. He knows if he keeps winning, he will have to face them all.
“I don’t like to think too much about one name because it keeps changing a lot. So I just keep training to keep evolving, and that’s my goal now. Stoic mindset – let’s get better and be ready for the next one, whoever it is,” said Buchecha.
“I think [Malykhin] is a huge name in the organization and one of the best in the world. If I keep winning, eventually, we’re going to fight. Just like anyone who keeps a good winning streak, we’re going to fight each other sooner or later.”
With both heavyweights at the top of the division, a future meeting seems inevitable. However, ONE Heavyweight World Champion Arjan Bhullar also waits in the wings for the two rising contenders.
ONE’s heavyweight division picked up a lot of steam in 2021, and it looks like 2021 will continue the momentum with stars like Buchecha and Malykhin on the rise.
