ONE Championship’s Marcus Buchecha learning from ‘greatest’ Daniel Cormier as he moves into MMA
- BJJ legend has been helping ‘DC’ in American Kick-boxing Academy camp for UFC 252 heavyweight title trilogy vs Stipe Miocic
- ‘The opportunity to learn from one of the greatest heavyweights of all time is great for me,’ says new ONE signing Buchecha
As he prepares for his long-awaited switch to MMA, Brazilian jiu-jitsu legend Marcus “Buchecha” Almeida couldn’t ask for a better teacher.
The 13-time BJJ world champ Buchecha signed with ONE Championship last week, bolstering its heavyweight division after coming on board with Dominance MMA Management CEO Ali Abdelaziz, who has struck up a partnership with the Asian martial arts organisation.
And ahead of the move, the 30-year-old black belt has been with American Kick-boxing Academy in California helping Daniel Cormier prepare for his trilogy fight against UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic at UFC 252 on August 15.
“Yeah, I was there for a couple days, it’s always a great environment to be around these guys,” he told SCMP MMA. “I have been at AKA since 2013 the first time.
“When I met them they were kinda at the beginning, so I know Cain [Velasquez], DC, Luke [Rockhold], Javier [Mendez] and all the guys from there – since almost 10 years ago and it’s always good. I was always trying to do the transition [to MMA], I knew I could do it with them.