Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida Gets New Opponent for MMA Debut at ONE: Revolution

The long-awaited MMA debut of top BJJ competitor Marcus “Buchecha” Almeida is a little over two weeks away. Originally slated to face former professional hockey player Thomas Narmo on September 24 at ONE: Revolution, Almeida will now square off with Anderson “Braddock” Silva at the same event. The promotion announced the bout via press release.

Almeida signed with the Singapore-based MMA promotion last year and was slated to make his MMA debut earlier in 2021. But after that fight fell through, Almeida was booked against Narmo, who withdrew, and now Silva.

Not to be confused with the former longtime UFC middleweight champion, Anderson “Braddock” Silva is a 35-year old kickboxing veteran with a 3-1 MMA record and a 52-20-1 kickboxing record. Silva’s last official MMA bout took place in 2018 — a first-round knockout of Julio Cesar Lima. Since then, Silva lost an amateur fight on The Ultimate Fighter Season 28 and has otherwise competed exclusively in professional kickboxing under the ONE Championship banner.

Almeida is one of the most accomplished jiu-jitsu competitors of all time, so his transition to MMA has not gone unnoticed. In jiu-jitsu, he is an incredible 13-time IBJJF world champion and a two-time ADCC champion. The longtime Checkmat representative has not competed in grappling since the 2019 ADCC championships, a tournament in which he earned silver.

Although Silva is a dangerous and skilled striker, his lack of experience in grappling gives Almeida an obvious path to victory. Simply put, Almeida is one of the absolute best jiu-jitsu players on the planet, and if he’s able to ground Silva, expect a quick submission victory from Almeida.

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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