Written by Marcus Buchecha | Photo via ONE
Jiu-jitsu legend Marcus Buchecha became a free agent after years under the ONE Championship banner and has already joined the UFC, booking his debut for July 26 in Abu Dhabi.
Multiple people with knowledge of the situation confirmed to MMA Fighting that Buchecha will take on Slovak heavyweight Martin Buday later this month in the United Arab Emirates. Robert Tellez first reported the news.
Buchecha is 5-1 as a professional MMA fighter with a 100 percent finish rate. The American Top Team talent hasn’t fought since November 2024, when he returned from a 15-month layoff to tap out Amir Aliakbari in round one.
Buchecha is one of the most decorate champions in jiu-jitsu history, a record 13 IBJJF world championships as a black belt — plus a pair of ADCC gold medals. The only defeat of his MMA career came in a 2023 decision against future ONE heavyweight champion “Reug Reug” Oumar Kane.
Buday is 6-1 under the UFC banner and 15-2 overall in the sport, picking up decision victories against Andrei Arlovski and Uran Satybaldiev in his most recent appearances to rebound from a stoppage defeat to Shamil Gaziev in December 2023.
The upcoming UFC Fight Night event in Abu Dhabi will take place at the Etihad Arena and feature another ONE veteran in the main event, as former two-division ONE titleholder Reinier de Ridder looks to go 3-0 in the UFC when he faces ex-UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker.
Damon Martin contributed to this report.