Marcus Almeida foresees stoppage win at ONE 169 

Seventeen-time BJJ World Champion Marcus Almeida has licked his wounds and learned from the first defeat of his professional MMA career, and now he plans to stop Amir Aliakbari in a sharp response this weekend. 

“Buchecha” meets Aliakbari in a pivotal heavyweight showdown at ONE 169: Malykhin vs. Reug Reug, which airs this Friday, November 8, from inside Bangkok, Thailand’s Lumpinee Stadium.  

Almeida’s loss at ONE Fight Night 13 to “Reug Reug” Oumar Kane took him some time to process. But he feels he was able to take plenty of lessons away from it.  

“Unfortunately, it’s part of being an athlete, and it isn’t the first or last time I lost a fight. I made some bad and hasty decisions during the fight, and I ended up having a very bad first round that cost me the fight. When I found myself in the fight, it was already a little too late,” Almeida said. 

“But even so, I fought three rounds, which had never happened before in my career. So, despite the defeat, a result I didn’t want, it was a good experience to fight the three rounds.” 

The Brazilian caught the attention of his fellow heavyweights by stopping all four of his opponents in the first frame. That saw him quickly climb the heavyweight ladder. 

After the recent hiccup, “Buchecha” plans for normal practice to resume at ONE 169. Aliakbari has also won his last four fights. So a victory could propel Almeida much closer to a shot at the ONE Heavyweight MMA World Title. 

“It’s hard to make a prediction but if possible, I’d like to end the fight before three rounds, either by submission or knockout,” he said. “I’ve trained a lot for this. And I see that the fight could end in either of these ways.” 

Buchecha keeping close eye on ONE 169 main event

Returning to winning ways against Amir Aliakbari at ONE 169: Malykhin vs. Reug Reug is the most important thing for Marcus Almeida.  

But given that the spoils of war could see the victor earn a World Title opportunity, the Brazilian will want to keep an eye on ONE 169’s headline attraction between ONE Heavyweight MMA World Champion Anatoly Malykhin and Oumar Kane. 

“Buchecha’s” name has long been entrenched in the division’s upper echelon. After all, it was Kane who earned an opportunity at three-weight king Malykhin off the back of their battle in August 2023 at ONE Fight Night 13. 

Now, both Almeida and Aliakbari are close to the summit. But either man could be next in line with an impressive performance.