Buchecha rules out another match with Rodolfo Vieira
The 13-time world champion tells VF Comunica in Las Vegas why he would not face his old rival, and now friend, one more time.
Marcus Buchecha has no plans to face Rodolfo Vieira again. The 13-time world champion gave a straight answer when VF Comunica asked him, backstage at the IBJJF World Master Championship in Las Vegas in early September, whether the match could happen again if the right offer came along: “Honestly, man, I don’t think so. I don’t think so.”
The question had a reason behind it. Buchecha and Rodolfo had just posted a video together on social media looking back at the rivalry that defined the black belt division in the 2010s, with meetings at the IBJJF Worlds and the Abu Dhabi World Pro, and the response got fans dreaming about one more chapter.
A brother Jiu-Jitsu gave him
Buchecha explained his answer through what the relationship has become. “Rodolfo became like a brother that Jiu-Jitsu gave me. He inspired me a lot, not only in Jiu-Jitsu but in MMA too. I watched everything he did in MMA, and then in the UFC,” he said.
He admitted the matchup would make sense and that the motivation would be there. “Of course it would make a lot of sense, and I think that if I were going to fight him, I’d feel that drive to train for it. But no, I don’t think I would fight him,” he said.
Training is a different story. When Vitor Freitas suggested a closed-door session between the two, filmed by VF Comunica, Buchecha pointed out that it already happens: “We train together all the time.”
A rivalry that never got in the way of a friendship
For Buchecha, the rivalry is long behind them. “It’s been a long time since we had that rivalry. The last time we fought was 2014, so it’s been about 12 years,” he recalled.
Even at the height of their matches, they stayed close off the mats. Buchecha said he, Rodolfo and Leandro Lo traveled to tournaments together and that “the three of us were really tight.” The rivalry with both of them, he said, never hurt the friendship. “We always managed to keep those things separate.”
Back on social media
The conversation also touched on Buchecha’s recent push on social media, where he now shares technique and opinions after years of keeping a low profile. “It took me a while, but I finally got my act together,” he joked. “I think I spent a long time without saying much, without sharing not only positions and a bit of technique, but also a bit of what I think.”
He said he has been getting a lot of messages from fans thanking him. “So I’m happy with the whole result. I think people were kind of waiting for that from me,” he said.
Buchecha also sees himself as part of a lineage that helped the sport grow to where it is today. “I feel like I’m part of all of this, going back to Minotauro, Arona, Fabio Gurgel, those guys who competed in the gi, in no-gi, and fought MMA,” he said, looking out at the packed venue in Las Vegas. “When I started Jiu-Jitsu, I never imagined it would become what it has become.”
Full video on YouTube
The full conversation with Marcus Buchecha is in VF Comunica’s Day 2 vlog from Las Vegas, on the VF Comunica YouTube channel (in Portuguese).
Would you like to see Buchecha and Rodolfo face off one more time? Let us know in the comments.
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