# Marcus Almeida ("Buchecha")

> Black Belt | Brazil

## Overview

**Name:** Marcus Almeida

**Nickname:** Buchecha

**Belt Rank:** Black Belt

**Nationality:** Brazil

**Gender:** Male


## Bio

Marcus Almeida (192cm / 6’3″ tall) was born on the 8 th  of January, 1990, in a town called Sao Vicente close to Santos in the state of Sao Paulo. As a child, Marcus wanted to be a football (soccer) player, but he was not very good at it by his own admission. He then turned his sights on Surfing a sport he practiced from a young age.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu only came into “Buchecha’s” life in his mid-teens. He was 14 years old when his sister first started training BJJ. Marcus’s father, Mr. Cleiton Almeida, was very protective of his daughter and started accompanying her to class. With time Mr. Cleiton started practicing himself, and from there it wasn’t long until he was dragging his son Marcus with him. Luckily young Marcus loved Jiu-Jitsu from the start and started training every chance he could.

Marcus’s physical abilities helped by the masterful eye of his instructor, BJJ World Champion Rodrigo Cavaca, soon turned Buchecha into one of the most feared athletes in the lower belt divisions, and after successive wins in the “Brasileiro”, Pan American, Sao Paulo Cup, Scandinavian Open and “Mundial”, Almeida received his black belt (while on the podium after his win at the World Championship in 2010), not long after his father was also awarded his black belt in BJJ. He moved to the United States with his master and his teammate Thiago “Baiano” Aragao in 2010 where he confirmed he belonged in the major league of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, winning the World Nogi Tournament later that year, closing the bracket with his “Avengers” teammate,  Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu . After a short spell when he returned to his native Santos in 2011 with his master Cavaca, Buchecha came back to the United States where he started coaching and competing full time.

After this return to the United States (2012), Marcus Buchecha Almeida’s career as a black belt competitor took off to another level with a win in both his weight and the absolute category at the Pan American Championships as well as the World Jiu-Jitsu Championships (both with IBJJF). He also fought in the legendary  Roger Gracie  at the  Metamoris Pro Invitational , giving a great display of jiu-jitsu, tying the match in submission only rules with the 10x world champion.

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**Last Updated:** April 27, 2026

**Data Source:** BJJ.Space (https://bjj.space/people/marcus-almeida-f3fd60b33c09)