“I didn’t have this will to train, this will to compete, with jiu jitsu anymore because I accomplished pretty much everything in my career,” began Buchecha, who has earned first-round stoppages — four by submission — in each of his five career wins. “So I have this will, this desire to train again; to go there and test myself, and that is what I’m doing. I test myself in the gi, I test myself in no-gi, and now I’m testing my jiu jitsu in the cage, in the UFC.
“It’s a new sport: the jiu jitsu is totally different for MMA than for competition. It took me a while to learn, to understand the game, how to perfect my jiu jitsu for MMA because of course we have a lot of different factors — the cage, the punches, the ground; it changes everything.
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“It took me a while to adapt, but after I did, after I started realizing, everything started making more sense, I think my jiu jitsu got much better,” he added. “I never had my jiu jitsu so sharp as I have it right now. I still train in jiu jitsu every day, so if I go to competitions, I think I would have my jiu jitsu the best I’ve had my whole career because I’m training so much.”
That’s a scary proposition considering he’s already widely regarded as one of the greatest competitors to ever grace the mats, and should be a concerning thought for the athletes in the UFC heavyweight division.