There is nothing left but media obligations before Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida steps in to the octagon for his UFC debut, and he clearly feels well-prepared. It’s a moment that BJJ fans around the world have been waiting for, as one of the best competitors in the sport’s history will be joining the biggest MMA promotion in the world. Buchecha isn’t taking an easy opponent for his promotional debut either, he’s jumping straight into the fire with 13-ranked Martin Buday at UFC on ABC 9. It’s no exaggeration to say that this will be the toughest fight of Buchecha’s MMA career so far, but he’s faced these kinds of challenges in BJJ before.
When asked by MMAFighting if he felt like there was any pressure on him coming in to his big opportunity, Buchecha revealed that he actually sees things a little differently:
“I’m anxious to feel all that, but I’m not feeling pressured. I think the pressure is on the other side. Sure, I have my titles, I have my career, my history in Jiu-Jitsu, and I’ll take all that experience with me to the UFC, but I’m not the favorite. If we were to fight on the gi, then I would be the favorite and pressured to win. With that obligation to win, let’s put it this way. But in MMA, I don’t feel that. I never did (in ONE Championship) and also not in the UFC. I’m new to the sport, but I’m coming hungry for this.”
He gained plenty of experience during his time with ONE Championship too, as he went 5-1 under their banner and finished his run there with a first-round submission win over Amir Aliakbari. Although he had some great performances during his time fighting for them, he wasn’t completely happy with his experience there and even considered retirement due to the lack of activity. Now he should be able to be much more active in the UFC, but he isn’t looking past this first fight with Buday even if he is confident in his ability to win:
“He’s a black belt. There’s a lot of heavyweights that are monsters on the feet but know nothing when they hit the ground. That’s not his case. He’s a black belt and trains Jiu-Jitsu for quite a while, but I’ve fought against black belts my entire life. World championships, all black belts there, so my opponent being a black belt or not doesn’t change anything for me because I’ll always believe in my Jiu-Jitsu against anyone.”
He has earned all five of his wins through the use of his elite Jiu-Jitsu, but his sole loss came when he wasn’t able to take the fight to the ground on his terms. Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida has been preparing for that eventuality in his UFC debut though:
“But I have to be prepared for any situation, right? If the fight doesn’t go to the ground we have to stay on the feet, so we have to feel comfortable there. I’ll be prepared for all areas, like it happened to me when I wasn’t able to take the fight to the ground and had to fight on the feet, taking longer for me to get it to the ground. This is the magic about MMA. The plan doesn’t always work, but the fighter has to adapt, has to figure it out.”
The full interview with Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida where he assesses his UFC debut against Martin Buday was uploaded to the official YouTube channel of MMAFighting:
