Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida booked against former title challenger Kirill Grishenko

Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist Marcus “Buchecha” Almeida is continuing his climb through ONE Championship’s heavyweight rankings. On Friday, August 26 at ONE 161, Almeida will put his undefeated record on the line against former interim title challenger Kirill Grishenko.

View the current ONE 161 line-up below.

This will be a relatively quick turnaround for Almeida, who has won all three of his professional MMA bouts by first-round stoppage. He last competed in June when he defeated Simon Carson by ground-and-pound finish.

One of the most accomplished jiu-jitsu competitors ever, Almeida made his professional MMA debut in September 2021, defeating kickboxer Anderson “Braddock” Silva by first-round submission. The 32-year old Almeida is a staggering 13-time IBJJF world champion, as well as a two-time ADCC world champion. He has not competed in grappling since his loss to Gordon Ryan in the finals of absolute division of the 2019 ADCC Championships.

On paper, Grishenko represents the toughest test yet for Almeida in his still-young MMA career. He is an athletic and well-rounded fighter that sports a 5-1 professional record. Grishenko’s lone loss came in his last bout — an unsuccessful attempt to capture the interim ONE heavyweight title against Anatoly Malykhin. Grishenko has won bouts by TKO, submission, and decision.

How to watch: ONE 161 takes place on Friday, August 26 and will air live on Prime Video at 10 PM ET.

Ben Coate

Ben has been involved with grappling, whether through wrestling or Brazilian jiu-jitsu, essentially his entire life. After wrestling throughout his childhood, Ben found Brazilian jiu-jitsu as a young adult and quickly fell in love. He has been training for over ten years and currently holds the rank of brown belt, and remains involved in both the MMA and BJJ scene. Ben has been writing about combat sports since 2017. He has interviewed and profiled some of MMA's biggest stars, including multiple UFC champions.

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