Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida Won’t Compete At ONE 157

Marcus “Buchecha” Almeida will no longer compete at ONE 157: Petchmorakot vs. Vienot this Friday, 20 May.

The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu icon has seen multiple opponents pull out leading up to the event, and as a result, his heavyweight mixed martial arts clash has been removed from the card.

ONE Championship confirmed the news on its official social media accounts earlier Thursday.

“Buchecha” was originally slated to face “Reug Reug” Oumar Kane at ONE 157, but the Senegalese star was forced out of the contest due to injury.

Soon after, fellow Brazilian and BJJ black belt Hugo Cunha stepped up to battle the American Top Team representative.

Cunha had debuted in ONE against Dustin Joynson earlier this year and was looking to bounce back from his first professional loss.

Unfortunately, “Silverback” tested positive for COVID-19 in Brazil before he traveled to Singapore.

Eager to keep “Buchecha” on the card, ONE’s matchmakers secured Jasur Mirzamukhamedov to fill in on short notice, but the unbeaten “White Tiger” also tested positive for COVID-19 upon his arrival in Singapore.

As a result, the 17-time BJJ World Champion has been left without an opponent and won’t be stepping into the Circle at ONE 157.

However, “Buchecha” shouldn’t have to wait long for his return to MMA, as he will likely compete at ONE 158 on Friday, 3 June. Whenever he does compete, he’ll put his 2-0 record in the all-around sport on the line.

A new opponent is still to be determined, so stay tuned to onefc.com for more updates.