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MARCUS BUCHECHA HAS ARRIVED
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Legend Discusses Journey To UFC Ahead Of Maiden Voyage Into The Octagon
Marcus Buchecha is the most decorated Brazilian jiu jitsu competitor of all time; a 13-time world champion in the gi, as well as a two-time world champion in no-gi with multiple wins in the Pan-Am Championships and ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship as well.
He’s a fourth-degree black belt under Rodrigo Cavaca who closed out his career on the mats with well over 100 career wins and victories over many of the biggest names to compete over the last decade plus.
But this week, he’s a newcomer, set to make his first appearance inside the UFC Octagon in an intriguing matchup against Martin Buday on Saturday evening at Etihad Arena.
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“I feel like a white belt, starting at the beginning,” Buchecha said on Tuesday from his hotel room in Abu Dhabi. “I’ve got a couple (promotions) already in my MMA career, but I’m far away from being a real MMA black belt, but I’m enjoying the ride so much.”
The 35-year-old Brazilian moved away from competing in BJJ in the fall of 2019, shifting his focus to mixed martial arts. Less than a year later, he signed with ONE Championship and after injuries delayed his debut, he finally stepped into the cage for the first time just shy of two years after his final match at the 2019 ADCC World Championship, defeating Brazilian kickboxer Anderson “Braddock” Silva by first-round submission.
Over the next three years, Buchecha would compete five more times, amassing a 5-1 record and cementing his standing as an intriguing prospect on the heavyweight landscape; a legitimate world-class specialist in a division where dominant grapplers are a rare breed.
So with a handful of fights already behind him and training with an elite squad at American Top Team, where would the debuting heavyweight and BJJ legend say he ranks in terms of MMA belts at the moment?
“I think I’m gonna leave that for people to (decide) after a couple of fights; I’m not gonna rank myself,” he said with a smile and a laugh, deftly side-stepping the question. “I’m gonna leave that for the people who are gonna be watching, all the media, to do this. You guys will have this job.”
Time will tell where Buchecha stacks up in the heavyweight division, but he’s hopeful to follow in the footsteps of several other standout Brazilian jiu jitsu practitioners that have ventured into the world of MMA and amassed a tremendous amount of success.
“Demian Maia, for sure, number one,” he said when asked which athletes he’s looked at for inspiration as he’s embarked on this new adventure, quickly citing the highly respected two-time title challenger. “Gilbert Burns, Charles “Do Bronxs,” Rodolfo Vieira — all these guys that I watched doing jiu jitsu and they did the transition so well to MMA.
“We have, of course, Fabricio Werdum, who won pretty much everything in jiu jitsu and was UFC world champ, so I always watch these guys, and now I’m following in their steps. It’s been great to now follow in their steps and having them support me, too. I got messages from all of them, support from them, and it’s amazing.
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“(Alexandre) Pantoja uses his jiu jitsu well, as well; that’s my training partner, too,” he added, making sure to shout out the UFC flyweight champion. “I watch all these guys and try to do the same as they’re doing inside the Octagon.”
For the Brazilian jiu jitsu legend, the transition to mixed martial arts and seeking to follow in the footsteps of the standouts that blazed the trail before him rekindled a fire for training and competing that had all but burnt out towards the end of his grappling career.
“I didn’t have this will to train, this will to compete, with jiu jitsu anymore because I accomplished pretty much everything in my career,” began Buchecha, who has earned first-round stoppages — four by submission — in each of his five career wins. “So I have this will, this desire to train again; to go there and test myself, and that is what I’m doing. I test myself in the gi, I test myself in no-gi, and now I’m testing my jiu jitsu in the cage, in the UFC.
“It’s a new sport: the jiu jitsu is totally different for MMA than for competition. It took me a while to learn, to understand the game, how to perfect my jiu jitsu for MMA because of course we have a lot of different factors — the cage, the punches, the ground; it changes everything.
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“It took me a while to adapt, but after I did, after I started realizing, everything started making more sense, I think my jiu jitsu got much better,” he added. “I never had my jiu jitsu so sharp as I have it right now. I still train in jiu jitsu every day, so if I go to competitions, I think I would have my jiu jitsu the best I’ve had my whole career because I’m training so much.”
That’s a scary proposition considering he’s already widely regarded as one of the greatest competitors to ever grace the mats, and should be a concerning thought for the athletes in the UFC heavyweight division.
But, as he said, MMA is a different sport than jiu jitsu, and there have been plenty of world champions that faltered upon making their way into the Octagon, which is why Saturday’s matchup with Buday feels like such a perfect introductory assignment for Buchecha.
A member of the Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS) Class of ’21, the 33-year-old Buday is a behemoth of a man, standing six-foot-four and needing to cut down to make the heavyweight limit. He’s also been an effective and successful competitor since graduating tothe UFC roster, posting a 6-1 record through his first seven appearances.
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While not always the most aesthetically pleasing at times, wins are wins, and beating someone with as much experience and success at this level would be a major statement for the debuting Brazilian, not that those things factored into his decision to accept the fight at all.
“Martin is a really experienced fighter; he has seven fights already in the UFC, six wins,” began Buchecha, offering his thoughts on the hulking Slovakian. “I watched all of his fights, I know how he uses his game.
“He’s a great opponent, really experienced — he’s used to fighting three rounds — but to be honest with you, when my manager told me ‘You’re gonna fight in the UFC,’ it didn’t really matter the opponent because that was a dream come true,” he continued, a smile stretching across his face. “When he gave me the name, I said, ‘Let’s do it!’ He’s an experienced fighter, so let’s do it.
“I’m excited,” he added. “It’s going to be the biggest challenge of my career so far, but my career was full of challenges the whole time, so it’s gonna be another big one, for sure.”
Just as he’s not assigning himself a belt rank in MMA, Buchecha also isn’t setting any hard and fast targets for himself as he takes this next step forward in his career. Instead, he’s simply enjoying the moment and focused on making the absolute most of it.
“It’s a dream come true, but it’s just the beginning; it’s just the first step. I know there is a lot to go, a lot ahead, and I hope I have a really good and successful career here in the UFC. This is something that I dreamed of for so long, fought for for so long, and it’s finally happening. It took me a while to get here, but finally I made it, and I’m gonna make it count.
“I’m gonna give my best and I’m not gonna count the days, I’m gonna make the days count here.”
And as always, he’s going to represent for his sport.
“After the UFC news, everyone starts supporting me, everybody’s got my back,” offered Buchecha. “That made me really happy because I wasn’t expecting that. It’s one more reason to carry the jiu jitsu flag in the Octagon, in the UFC, and that’s what I’m always gonna do — I’m always gonna bring the jiu jitsu flag with me, represent jiu jitsu.”
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