Legendary Brazilian jiu-jitsu competitor and undefeated heavyweight mixed martial arts contender Marcus “Buchecha” Almeida is a combat sports fan just like anyone else.
It comes as no surprise, then, that the 32-year-old grappling specialist is excited for the main event of ONE on Prime Video 3 this Friday night – a world title fight between knockout artists John Lineker (35-9) and Fabricio Andrade (8-2).
“Buchecha” is sure that the highly anticipated ONE bantamweight world championship showdown has all the makings of an instant classic.
“It’s one of the fights with the potential to be the fight of the year,” he said. “We had a lot of really good fights this year at ONE, but this one has a lot of potential to be the fight of the year. But let’s wait and see how this fight unfolds.”
He’s not wrong. Lineker, the current ONE bantamweight world champion, has long established himself as one of MMA’s most reliable action fighters and a devastating puncher who is always happy to engage in a wild brawl.
Andrade, however, might be the best finisher in the bantamweight division. The 25-year-old Brazilian known as “Wonder Boy” is a slick muay Thai striker who has won his last three bouts via first-round knockout.
And although “Buchecha” is a grappler at heart, he can’t look away from a standup war, and that’s exactly what he expects when the champion and challenger square off.
“This fight is going to be awesome! I’m really looking forward to it, and I can’t wait for this fight to happen,” he said.
“I think it will be 100 percent striking. They’ve been challenging each other for some time on the internet, saying it’s forbidden to attempt a takedown. So, I think it will be a wild fight, pure striking.”
In the battle of striker vs. striker, “Buchecha” is ultimately siding with the red-hot Andrade, confident that his reach advantage will make the difference against the shorter, stockier Lineker.
He’s equally confident that this clash for bantamweight gold won’t go the distance:
“Fabrício is coming in a very good phase. He won all of his fights at ONE and deserved this chance for the belt,” the Brazilian jiu-jitsu legend said.
“He has a larger wingspan than Lineker, and that might help him. I think he will control that distance, avoiding Lineker’s game, which is more in the short distance playing the hooks. So, I think Fabrício will know how to explore this and his greater reach will help him. I believe he can become champion.
“But I’m 100 percent sure this fight won’t go to the end. Someone will be knocked out first, and I think that the one who will win this fight is Fabrício Andrade.”
