Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida and Rodolfo Vieira are two of the best BJJ competitors of all time and both men have won a huge number of titles in the sport. Buchecha is the most successful athlete in IBJJF World Championship history with 13 gold medals and 6 of them coming in the absolute division. All of his weight class titles were won at ultra-heavyweight, while Vieira won his 5 IBJJF world titles at either heavyweight or super-heavyweight. They were both at the very top of the grappling world during the same period of time so naturally they met on the mats in the absolute division a number of times.
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Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida vs Rodolfo Vieira
The rivalry between Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida and Rodolfo Vieira spanned the course of several years and this specific match between them happened in the earliest days of it. Their first match came in 2011 when Vieira submitted Buchecha with an armbar in the semi-final of the IBJJF World Championship, so naturally Buchecha was eager for revenge. Both men entered the event again the following year in 2012 and Buchecha won his first world title in the ultra-heavyweight division, while Vieira won his third title at heavyweight. They both entered the absolute division and both submitted their first two opponents to make it into the quarter-final opposite one another.
The Match At IBJJF World Championship 2012
The second match between Buchecha and Rodolfo Vieira started very quickly, with Rodolfo attempting a footsweep in the first few seconds and both men fighting for grips on the feet. Buchecha tried to jump to closed guard but Vieira almost countered with a quick pass and was able to step one leg outside his opponent’s guard. Vieira tried to force his way to a smash pass but Buchecha elevated him and managed to expose his back a little, quickly inverting underneath him and getting an ankle-lock grip on one of Vieira’s legs. Buchecha switched to a grip on the pants and keep Vieira down while he stood up, scoring the first two points of the match for the sweep.
Buchecha started to set up a leg-weave to put pressure into Vieira’s half guard and the referee took the opportunity to reset them in the middle. Vieira tried to invert but Buchecha dropped to his knees to shut it down, before standing back up to pass again. Vieira coped well by switching to half-guard on the other side but Buchecha took up the headquarters position and used it to drop his free leg past Vieira’s guard. Vieira quickly secured an underhook on that leg though and was able to transition to deep half guard, using it set up a sweep.
Rodolfo Vieira almost managed to come up on top but Buchecha drove him back down, trying to set up a smash pass position in the process. Vieira was able to use the butterfly hook to elevate Buchecha and cause him to drop his hips, pausing for a moment to search for the right grips. He was under threat of elevation again when he stood up, with Vieira switching to collar-and-sleeve open guard to deal with his passing. Vieira got a de la riva hook but Buchecha stuffed the other leg between his own and started to drop his weight to shut down the threat.
That allowed Vieira to get to deep half guard and attempt another sweep, but Buchecha re-balanced and was able to recover a standing position. Rodolfo Vieira transition to X guard from there and Buchecha was trying to pass quickly, but Vieira was able to pummel his hooks back inside and sit his opponent down. Buchecha got back up eventually and Vieira worked his way into knee-shield, off-balancing Buchecha with a quick tilt sweep as the referee reset them in the center. Buchecha stood up after the reset and started to work for the smash pass again, moving frantically to each side to take advantage of any mistake.
Buchecha managed to get an underhook at one point and used it to pressure into Rodolfo Vieira, but Vieira was able to create enough space to swing his leg over and attack an omoplata. Buchecha stood and stepped over Vieira to defend the submission but Vieira was able to use the threat to hit a sweep and level the score at 2-2. He was in the perfect position to finish a leg-drag pass and he slid into side control to score another 3 points, moving 5-2 ahead. Vieira tried to step into mount but Buchecha was able to use a grip on his pants to stuff a leg down into quarter guard, while Vieira was trying to use underhooks to flatten him out and free that leg.
He was able to do so, but Buchecha managed to capture the other leg into quarter guard this time. Buchecha tried to elevate Vieira and sweep him but Vieira posted out on his leg, allowing Buchecha the room he needed to turn to his knees. Buchecha rolled through for a kneebar on one of Vieira’s legs and even tucked the leg under his armpit to try to finish it, but he eventually chose to come up on top and take 2 points for the sweep instead. With Vieira still ahead 5-4, Buchecha got to work passing his open guard just as they were reset in the center again.
Buchecha stood up and this gave Rodolfo Vieira the opportunity to attack a kneebar of his own. After a little time where both men were being cautious in the position, Vieira worked his way up on top and earned 2 points for the sweep to move to 7-4. Vieira started trying to pass Buchecha’s half guard when the pair were reset in the center, but Buchecha quickly turned to turtle and worked his way up to his feet. The action was paused for them both to re-tie their belts and Buchecha was able to pull guard again after a little bit of feeling out.
Vieira stayed standing though and although Buchecha was trying to work his way to de la riva, Vieira pressured into him heavily and forced his way into half guard. Vieira was able to progress to quarter guard and started freeing his leg to slide into mount, but Buchecha was able to turn to his knees again. Vieira secured one hook but Buchecha rolled forward and rotated his hips to slide free before he could secure the second, recovering quarter guard in the process. Vieira tried to finish the pass again but Buchecha was able to take advantage with a quick sweep to bring the score to 7-6, while Vieira locked up closed guard.
Buchecha stood up to break Vieira’s closed guard and stamped on his leg to clear his grips on the sleeve. Vieira stood up and Buchecha immediately shot in for a double-leg, scoring the 2 points that would push him into the lead at 8-7 as they were reset in the middle again. Vieira started a sweep from butterfly guard before switching to a belly-down armbar, and switching back to another sweep and another armbar attempt in quick succession. He was bridging in for the finish but Buchecha was able to step over him and slip his elbow free, stacking Vieira as the match came to an end.
The Aftermath
Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida had gotten his revenge against Rodolfo Vieira and won their rematch, engaging in one of the most exciting matches of the IBJJF World Championship 2012. He moved on to the next round of the absolute division where he beat Bernardo Faria and Leo Nogueira in order to win his first absolute title. They met on the mats twice again the following year where Buchecha won on points both times, before their final two meetings in 2014 that Buchecha also won on points. Although Buchecha ran away with their series in the end, this match was the turning point in their rivalry and the most exciting match out of all 6.
The full match between Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida and Rodolfo Vieira was uploaded to the official YouTube channel of Budo Videos:
