'Buchecha' reveals first-round outcome played out perfectly against Amir Aliakbari: "Exactly what I envisioned"

Marcus 'Buchecha' Almeida could not hold back his surprise at how perfectly his finish of Amir Aliakbari lined up with his expectations at ONE 169: Malykhin vs. 'Reug Reug'. The event went down this past Friday, Nov. 8, inside the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

The 17-time BJJ world champion told ONE Championship commentator Mitch Chilson in his post-fight interview:

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"To be honest with you, when we did the commentator interview, you forgot to ask me the position, but I had in my mind, I would show you a back take. So that's what I had in my mind. Sooner or later, I would be finishing him on his back and get the job done. It was exactly what I envisioned."

Almeida capitalized on the Iranian brawler's eagerness to land his punches by taking him down to the mat. He then methodically worked around Aliakbari's guard to cinch in the rear-naked choke midway through the first round.

ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong awarded Almeida a $50,000 performance bonus for his flawless showing against Aliakbari.

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'Buchecha' not as nervous competing in MMA compared to BJJ

Marcus 'Buchecha' Almeida surprisingly feels less pressure whenever he competes in MMA than his bread-and-butter of Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ).

The American Top Team and Evolve MMA product told the Jaxxon Podcast:

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"I tried to get the same mindset that I had when I was competing for jiu-jitsu. I try to keep the same mindset. But being honest, for MMA, I get less nervous 'cause there's not as much pressure as to when I was one of the best jiu-jitsu athletes out there. For sure, it's a lot of things to train."

Watch the entire interview:

Fans in the United States and Canada with an active Prime Video subscription can rewatch ONE 169 on demand.

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