Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida’s MMA Debut Scheduled for September

Marcus “Buchecha” Almeida is once again scheduled to make his long-anticipated MMA debut. Buchecha had been scheduled to appear in his first-ever MMA fight earlier this year at a ONE Championship event, but that bout was cancelled. He is now slated to face Thomas Narmo on September 24 at a ONE Championship event, according to a report from MMA Fighting.

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.

Almeida’s opponent will be former professional hockey player Thomas Narmo. Narmo is undefeated across five professional MMA bouts (four wins with one no contest). He last competed on Friday, August 13, in a fight against Alain Ngalani which ended in a no contest after an errant low blow from Ngalani.

Although Narmo has a fair amount more MMA experience than Almeida, he is nonetheless a good debut opponent for the grappling legend. Narmo is huge and musclebound, but will have nowhere near the grappling skill needed to deal with a technician the likes of Almeida.