Monday 3 November 2014

The Berimbolo Kid's Match of the Week - Week 15 - Marcus "Buchecha" Almeida vs. Jimmy Harbison - 2011 World Pro Trials

(The previous edition can be found HERE)

After a three week long hiatus, I'm finally back with another Match of the Week! 

Today, I'm sharing with you Marcus "Buchecha" Almeida vs. Jimmy Harbison from the 2011 World Pro Trials.

Marcus "Buchecha" Almeida is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt under Rodrigo Cavaca and fights for Checkmat. Since his late teens, Buchecha has been seen by many as the next big star in BJJ. He has more than lived up to that, and has gone on to win his weight division and absolute division three years in a row (2012, 2013, and 2014) at the World Championships. As of today, Buchecha is the number one black belt in the world under the IBJJF rankings. 

Being the number one ranked black belt in the world, it's not hard to imagine that Buchecha has won his fair share of medals throughout his time in competition. He is a six time World Champion (2012 weight and absolute, 2013 weight and absolute, and 2014 weight and absolute), a four time WPJJ (2012, 2013 absolute, 2014 weight and absolute) and Pan American Champion (2011, 2012, 2013 weight and absolute), and a one time ADCC Champion (2013).

One thing which is surprising about Marcus "Buchecha" Almeida is his speed for such a big guy. He is so fast and explosive. You will often see him start off a match with a take down, typically a double or single leg. From there, he quickly passes the guard and transitions to a dominant position which is usually the back. It not to say that he's afraid to pull guard either. He is just as dangerous and explosive off his back as he is on top. 

Marcus "Buchecha" Almeida
Source: Mike Calimbus 

James "Jimmy" Harbison is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt under Lloyd Irvin. He gained a considerable amount of media attention in 2011 after he won the 'grand slam' as a brown belt in competition. This means he took gold in all four major IBJJF tournaments (Worlds, Pan Ams, Europeans, and Brazilian Nationals). After winning the grand slam, Jimmy was quickly promoted to black belt and after only a few months at black belt, he made headlines again my defeating Rubens "Cobrinha" Charles at the 2011 NoGi Worlds. 

Throughout his career, Jimmy has won medals in many major tournaments. He is a one World (2011 brown), Pan American (2011 brown), European (2011 brown), Brazilian National (2011 brown), and World Pro Cup Trails Champion (2011 brown and black). He is also a World Pro Cup NoGi (2011 brown) and New York Open silver medalist (2010 brown weight and absolute). 

Jimmy is quite well rounded as a fighter. Even though you see him use a lot of half and closed guard in his matches, he is also very comfortable on top and passing the guard. He is very good from the half guard position and plays it open similar to a reverse de la riva position. In terms of submissions, Jimmy uses the triangle frequently throughout his matches. It is a submission he has very high success with in competition. 

Jimmy Harbison

Personally, I love brown vs. black belt matches. In nearly everyone, I'm always rooting for the brown belt to win. I always like to see brown belts beat black belts. 

As you can probably tell already, this is a brown vs. black belt match. Jimmy Harbison being the brown belt, and Marcus "Buchecha" Almeida being the black belt. Some of you may not like this match, but I really do. I think Jimmy does an awesome job against Buchecha with his half guard keeping him away for the majority of the match. Feel free to let me know your thoughts!

The video of the match can be found below. I hope you guys enjoy!

See you next week!

(If you are viewing on a mobile device, please click HERE)

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