Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu legend Bernardo Faria shared his assessment of how difficult modern MMA has become for pure jiu-jitsu practitioners, using Marcus “Buchecha” Almeida’s recent performance as an example.
In a video commentary following Buchecha’s latest bout, Faria described what he sees as a core problem for grapplers transitioning to mixed martial arts. He broke down a match in which Buchecha appeared to control most of the action but still failed to secure a clear result.
“I watched the Buchecha’s match this weekend and my two cents is that MMA is crazy hard for us from jiu-jitsu nowadays,” Faria said. He explained that Buchecha “totally dominated every single round, was able to take his opponent down on every round, dominated with good positions,” yet the bout ended in a draw.
Faria’s comments reflect a wider frustration among jiu-jitsu specialists entering MMA. Even when a grappler successfully implements their game plan, secures repeated takedowns and holds dominant positions, it may no longer be enough to sway judges or lead to a finish.
He noted that the bout was disrupted when Buchecha’s opponent poked him in the eye, causing a lengthy stoppage, and admitted the match may not have been exciting to watch. From a technical perspective, however, Faria believed the outcome was clear.
“It just feels like it’s crazy hard for us from jiu-jitsu and like it almost feels like if you do a great job with jiu-jitsu that’s not enough anymore. You have to do a lot more than that,” Faria said.
Despite his criticism of the current landscape, Faria emphasized his support for Buchecha.
“Congratulations Buchecha and we are all cheers here for you,” he said, before restating his point. “It’s really, really hard for us from jiu-jitsu to win on MMA nowadays using jiu-jitsu.”
Buchecha has made it clear he does not intend to stop pursuing MMA, releasing the following statement after the draw.
“Unfortunately, it wasn’t the result I wanted, but it’s part of the sport, the fi ght ended in a draw!
I had a very good camp, in fact, I had the best preparation since I started in the sport, but unfortunately, I still made some mistakes in the fight that cost me the victory.
I would like to thank my coaches @parrumpaatt who helped me a lot since we started working together and I felt a great evolution, to @leo7elias who came from Thailand and spent all this time during the camp with me and has helped me evolve a lot too, to @caradesapato who spent this entire camp training, helping me and closely following all the training, and of course to the entire @americantopteam, to all the coches and training partners who helped me and help me daily.
I have two options now, give up or go back to the gym and continue working.
In Jiu Jitsu, I lost a lot at the beginning of my career, and that wasn’t what made me give up, now it won’t be different.
Thank you to everyone who cheered and sent positive messages.”\
