Marcus Buchecha Scheduled for Debut at UFC Abu Dhabi

Former ONE Championship heavyweight Marcus Buchecha (properly Marcus Almeida) has signed with the UFC.

Almeida (5-1), a highly decorated BJJ champion, will make his promotional debut at UFC Abu Dhabi later this month, where he will take on Martin Buday (15-2).

Robert Tellez (Bert MMA) was first to report news of the match-up.

Marcus Buchecha claimed gold medals at multiple Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Championships between 2012 and 2019, and took gold at the ADCC World Championship in 2013 and 2017. He signed with ONE Championship in 2020, making his MMA debut the following year and winning his first four fights with the promotion. He then ran into Oumar Kane, a.k.a. “Reug Reug,” losing a decision (Kane would go on to claim the heavyweight title).

Almeida bounced back with a win over Amir Aliakbari in November 2024 but has struggled to find a fight since.

For Buday, who is 6-1 under the UFC banner, it’s a chance to extend a two-fight win streak. The Slovakian heavyweight’s lone loss in the promotion came against Shamil Gaziev in 2023.

UFC Abu Dhabi takes place on July 26, 2025 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, UAE, and is headlined by another former ONE Championship star, Reinier de Ridder. He faces ex-UFC champ Robert Whittaker, with the main card airing on ABC.

The following match-ups have been reported for the event:

• Robert Whittaker vs. Reinier de Ridder
• Movsar Evloev vs. Aaron Pico
• Petr Yan vs. Marcus McGhee
• Bryce Mitchell vs. Said Nurmagomedov
• Sharabutdin Magomedov vs. Marc-André Barriault
• Nikita Krylov vs. Bogdan Guskov
• Asu Almabayev vs. Ramazan Temirov
• İbo Aslan vs. Billy Elekana
• Amanda Ribas vs. Tabatha Ricci
• Muslim Salikhov vs. Carlos Leal Miranda
• Da’Mon Blackshear vs. Davey Grant
• Mohammad Yahya vs. Steven Nguyen
• Marcus Almeida vs. Martin Buday