Marcus “Buchecha” Almeida is gearing up for a fight that’s been a long time coming in his ONE Championship journey. 

On Friday, August 4, the Brazilian grappling legend will step into heavyweight mixed martial arts action for the fifth time when he meets Oumar “Reug Reug” Kane at ONE Fight Night 13 on Prime Video. 

“Buchecha” has been scheduled to take on the Senegalese superstar on two previous occasions over the past two years, but injuries prevented those meetings from happening.

Now, it appears that the two ground specialists are finally on a collision course.

Marcus Almeida prepares for his long-awaited matchup

Speaking to ONE Championship, Almeida shared his excitement about being part of such a highly anticipated matchup. 

“It’s a great fight. Everybody’s been expecting it for a long time. My debut was supposed to be with him, and it got pushed over. So now, it’s a great chance,” he said.

“Reug Reug” broke into the promotion in January 2021, scoring back-to-back first-round knockout wins to put the heavyweight division on notice. 

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He was originally scheduled to welcome “Buchecha” to the Circle, but that honor went to Anderson “Braddock” Silva instead.

Read more: “That Makes A Lot Of Sense” – ‘Buchecha’ Envisions ONE Openweight Submission Grappling Grand Prix

Almeida took his compatriot out via a north-south choke in under three minutes when they met in September 2021, and he has gone on to score three more wins since then – all of which have come in the first frame.

A battle of dominance

The American Top Team and Evolve MMA representative submitted South Korean sensation Kang Ji Won in his return to the Circle three months after his debut win, and he claimed his first career TKO win against Simon Carson in June 2022. 

His most recent win in ONE was arguably his most significant, a first-round submission victory over former ONE World Title challenger Kirill Grishenko ONE on Prime Video last August, and he’ll be looking to continue that dominant run against “Reug Reug” on August 4. 

Though he has struggled with injury during his ONE tenure, Kane holds a blistering 4-1 slate in the Singapore-based promotion, including back-to-back wins in his last two outings. 

Read more: “My Ultimate Goal” – ‘Buchecha’ Focused on Capturing Heavyweight Crown This Year

He is a bona fide fan favorite, who always puts on a show, and “Buchecha” is excited for them to clash inside the Circle to see finally who the more dominant fighter is.

“He got a couple more fights. He got a couple more victories. I got four victories, so we both got more experience. So, this fight has everything to be a great one,” the 33-year-old said.