Marcus “Buchecha” Almeida, the legendary Brazilian jiu-jitsu champion, made a surprise appearance at the 2024 ADCC. Although he is currently focused on his MMA career, Buchecha couldn’t resist the opportunity to drop by and meet rumored paid guest Jon Jones.
In a recent interview, legendary Brazilian grappler Marcus “Buchecha” Almeida shared his thoughts on the controversial judging between Gordon Ryan and Felipe Pena.
While the match itself was an exciting display of world-class grappling, Buchecha believes the decision to award two points to Gordon during a key moment in the match was questionable.
“I watched the fight yesterday, it was a good fight,” Buchecha commented. “But in my opinion, that wasn’t two points. I know a lot of people are going to get mad, Gordon probably will be mad, but in my opinion that wasn’t two points.”
Buchecha elaborated that Pena’s unique and flexible guard style seemed to give Gordon trouble throughout the match. He felt the extra points could have altered the flow of the match, potentially leading to an even more thrilling overtime period.
“I’m not saying that Felipe would win because of that, but that could change the fight,” Buchecha explained. “The one more extra overtime would be awesome to watch, but I think it wasn’t two points.”
As a veteran of the sport, Buchecha acknowledged the challenges of interpreting grappling rules, which he believes could be made clearer to avoid such controversial decisions.
“I don’t know the rules being honest, I fought for so many times, every time the rule is one thing,” Buchecha said. “I think it could be a little bit more clear, and doesn’t depend too much on the table.”
While Buchecha is currently focused on his MMA career, he admitted that the itch to return to professional grappling is strong. “I’m too young to be retired, and I think retirement will be too boring for me,” he said. “I’m just going to enjoy why they last.”
“Retirement will be too boring for me, a lot of people ask why you didn’t retire yet, because if I retire then I will have to work, for me that’s no work, therefore do grappling and fighting, that’s what I love, of course it’s a hard job, but to do something that I love, I don’t call it work, I’m just having a good time.”
Buchecha also dropped by the Craig Jones Invitational earlier that weekend and even teased participation in the event on social media when Mason Fowler dropped out.
