The UFC heavyweight division has a compelling new player in Marcus Almeida, the multitime jiu-jitsu world champion who will finally achieve his dream of competing on MMA’s biggest stage.
After conquering the grappling world, Almeida (5-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC), better known as “Buchecha,” made his MMA debut in September 2021 with ONE Championship. He only competed six times over the course of nearly four years, leading to public frustrations about the lack of activity.
Almeida completed his ONE Championship contract in November with a first-round submission win over Amir Aliakbari. He had no intentions of re-signing, but an exclusive matching period left his career on ice. Once that expired, Almeida signed with UFC.
“Eight months ago when I did my last fight (with ONE Championship), I knew I didn’t want to renew,” Almeida told MMA Junkie. “I thought I would be free of the contract, but I didn’t know the clause about the matching offer time. All organizations have this clause, but I knew when the matching offer time expired I would be free, so I knew the date my contract was finished.
“I was training and getting ready for if anything happens, by the time I’m free, I’ll be ready. I was doing a camp for the end of my contract. Everything worked out. I signed with the UFC right away, and I knew something good was about to happen, and it did.”
With ONE Championship’s presence in MMA fleeting in favor of an increased volume of muay-Thai and kickboxing fights, a number of athletes contracted to compete in MMA have expressed frustration. Former two-division champion Reinier de Ridder is one of them, but he also managed to escape and join the UFC, where he’s now slated for a potential title eliminator against Robert Whittaker at UFC on ABC 9 on July 26.
Almeida will debut on the same card at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi (ABC, ESPN, ESPN+) against Martin Buday (15-2 MMA, 6-1 UFC), and he said he looks at de Ridder as inspiration for that’s possible in his new chapter.
“I felt those bad days, and it makes you go to dark places in your head,” Almeida said. “That’s really sad. Don’t give up and let those bad thoughts take over. The best example we have is the main event of the Abu Dhabi card with Reinier de Ridder. That’s the guy that everyone looks up to because he had tough moments, and now he’s doing great. He’s a really great guy and deserves all the best.
“We all have been in tough situations, so just be careful before you sign anything. Just think about it. Explore all of your possibilities, don’t give up if you’re in a bad spot. You still have time. The worst you can do is lose time, but it is what it is. That’s life. It’s not the end.”
Almeida made it clear he has no desire to trash ONE Championship after his exit and is focused on the future and his new opportunity with the UFC. He has been training diligently since his November fight to continue rounding out his skillset, but when the time comes to fight, he said it should be no secret what he’ll be trying to do.
“I know (Buday is a) jiu-jitsu black belt – he knows, of course, about the grappling, so it’s not going to be something new,” Almeida said. “But being honest, not just Buday, but if I fight anybody, I always will believe in my jiu-jitsu. I always will put my jiu-jitsu to work. That’s going to be the plan. Everybody knows what I’m doing. Everyone knows I’m carrying the jiu-jitsu flag out there. I’m going to be there to represent jiu-jitsu.”
At 35, an argument could be made that Almeida is joining the UFC too late to make a significant impact on the heavyweight division. He said he feels fresh, however, and looks at the history of fighters in his weight class, such as Randy Couture and Daniel Cormier, who also only started competing professional in MMA in their 30s.
It’s important for Almeida to take a step-by-step approach, and if he does that, he doesn’t rule out the day he’s challenging for UFC heavyweight gold.
“Of course I’m not the youngest guy, but I started MMA late, and my body didn’t take the damage,” Almeida said. “I see all the champions that are over 40 and winning belts, so I’m good. I still have a lot of years ahead of me, and I’m still hungry to compete. That’s the most important thing.
“I’m the kind of guy that just thinks about today and not tomorrow. I don’t like to think so ahead. Of course that’s the plan, to keep active and keep winning. That’s everybody’s goal. I’m no different. I want to go there, I want to do my job and get the victories. First of all I need to go there and win before I think about the next step. My focus is 100 percent on my debut.”
