Marcus „Buchecha“ Almeida is a BJJ black belt under the renowned Rodrigo Cavaca. He is one of the aces of the super and ultra-heavyweight divisions of Grappling. He is known for collecting medals in the black belt divisions, including a double win (weight and open weight division) at the 2012, 2013 and 2014, and 2016 world championships.
Sensational: That makes him the only man to win 4 open weight world championships in a row.

He recently had the chance to grapple against the first American black belt to conquer many landmarks Raphael Lovato Jr. Of course the fight was to take place under the ADCC rules – which was a little bit of a departure for Buchecha who is much more used to classic IBJJF matches. He told graciemag:

“Everything went well in this fight. The plan was put into practice. I’ve fought 20 minutes a few times, one against Roger Gracie and another with Roberto Cyborg, so I knew what it would be like to fight for a longer time than I’m used to. But I was prepared for it, I was able to impose my Wrestling game, I applied four good takedowns and I got some good positions on the ground, “

Thank you very much for the fight @lovatojrbjj , much Respect man. Stoked after this war against a #truemartialartist , it all wouldn’t Be possible without my #Checkmat family support during this camp, thank you to my friends who helped me in preparation for this challenge , I’m not saying the names because they know and to my master @leovieirabjj who is always there to help me during the good and bad times, you are the man Leo, and to my sponsors for supporting# me during my journey. @shoyoroll || @rvcasport || @musclepharm || @checkmathq || and to @oprecovery for the treatment during thia camp. And also congratulations @mojassim80 to put a great show at @adcc_northamerica . •••••• Muito obrigado pela luta @lovatobjj, muito respeito. Muito satisfeito depois de uma guerra com um #verdadeiroguerreiro. Nada disso seria possível sem a minha família #checkmat, todo o apoio durante o meu Camp. Obrigado aos meus amigos que me ajudaram a preparam para esse desafio, eu não preciso mencionar nomes porque eles sabem e para o meu mestre @leovieirabjj que sempre esta comigo para me ajudar nas horas boas e ruins, você é o cara Léo, e tb para os meus patrocinadores por me ajudarem na minha jornada. @shoyoroll || @rvcasport || @musclepharm || @oprecovery

A post shared by Marcus Almeida (@marcusbuchecha) on Apr 15, 2017 at 11:24pm PDT

Almeida ended up winning 6-0. Of course Buchecha was out of ADCC 2015 due to injury but he’s ready to step up to the plate once more:

“The ADCC is very different, the last time I fought these rules was in 2013. So it was great to do this fight before the main event. I think I fought well, but I saw that there is still a lot to improve to get well in Finland, “he said.

He is currently preparing for the IBJJF worlds:

“My focus now is everything for the World Cup. I’m training strong in kimono to get the gold in the absolute. I know there will be a lot of quarries along the way, but I’m confident in my training”