One Championship 's big signing of 2020, Marcus "Buchecha" Almeida could compete in multiple weight classes at the same time.- One CEO
Chatri Sityodtong had been looking at Buchecha for a long while, having dinner with him in Singapore in 2019, before signing him to the Asian MMA firm this year. - Buchecha is a consensus all-time great Brazilian jiu jitsu practitioner and his MMA debut will be an event to behold as a result.
- And Sityodtong will likely expect big things from Buchecha hailing him as a heavyweight who "moves like a lightweight."
One of Asia's most powerful combat
Almeida is widely considered one of the greatest ever practitioners of Brazilian jiu jitsu having won gold medals in a variety of competitions over the last 10 years.
He became one of the hottest properties in mixed martial arts when it became clear he was going to focus on MMA, and signed to One Championship this year.
Speaking to Insider about the talent acquisition, Sityodtong marveled at Buchecha's abilities, hailing him as "the most decorated Brazilian jiu jitsu athlete of all time."
Sityodtong said Buchecha is unique because he's so accomplished in grappling while still in his athletic prime at 30 years old. "In the heavyweight division no less," he said.
"I know he was talking to other organizations, I don't know which ones, but he actually had visited Singapore a year earlier. He and I had a good chat at dinner and he saw with his own eyes how different One Championship is from the other organizations.
Almeida was persuaded to come to One Championship, Sityodtong said, by the company's ethos.
"I always say One Championship is built by martial arts, led by martial artists, for martial artists … so there's a real ethos, considering what Buchecha is, he's attracted to what One Championship is about and what we're trying to do."
Sityodtong added: "I've known about him for years because of his incredible athleticism. He's a heavyweight but moves like a lightweight.
"His balance, speed, timing … it's unheard of in the heavyweight division. He's going to bring a lot of unique attributes.
"His grappling is the world's best but I think people are going to be surprised at how good his wrestling, striking, and MMA game is going to be.
"What I love about Buchecha is, he's obviously a lion in the arena of competition in the heat of battle but he's the nicest guy in the world outside the competitive realm, and he'll make a great role model and superhero for One Championship.
"We want the world's best martial artists full stop but we care deeply about our superheroes being role models to the world. Great role models for families, societies, countries."
Buchecha has been training at AKA and Evolve
To prepare for MMA competition as opposed to BJJ, Buchecha has been learning at world famous fight clubs like the American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, California, where he has wrestled Daniel Cormier, and the Evolve gym in Singapore.
"He's training at AKA and Evolve," Sityodtong said. "Those are his two main camps and he'll get the best of the best when it comes to training.
"I have seen his stand-up when he hits the pads. He looks clean and crisp though he's still young in his game."
On how long it could be before Buchecha challenges for a One Championship belt, Sityodtong said: "Let's see. We'll work at a comfortable pace for him.
"Because he's had [many] BJJ competition matches, his mental strength is going to be a different level already, right? His ability to overcome adversity. It's just going to be a different level.
"So, it's really about seeing how he is in the MMA arena and how he does with his first few fights. If he's capable and able, there's nothing that stops him from [going for the title sooner rather than later]."
And if he could compete in multiple divisions, at heavyweight and light heavyweight, Sityodtong said: "Yes. Definitely.
"His walking weight fluctuates in that range so he can definitely get very lean and fight at light heavyweight and who knows, he could have an amazing title fight at light heavyweight. That would be amazing."
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