After nearly 15 years of competitive hiatus, Marcelo Garcia is set to return to the competitive submission grappling scene. Widely regarded as one of the GOATs and the most talented grappler in the sport’s history, Marcelo will again grace us with his presence, this time on the ONE Championship Submission Grappling global stage. He will face off against Masakazu “Ashikan-Judan” Imanari at ONE 170 on 24 January 2025.
At 41, the grappling master is filled with the highest level of competition experience and knowledge, giving him a significant advantage over his competitors. In this article, let’s talk about what we can expect from Marcelo’s comeback in his venture into the ONE Championship.
Marcelo Garcia Background
Born on January 17, 1983, in Minas Gerais, Brazil, Marcelo Garcia is widely regarded as the greatest pound-for-pound Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competitor of all time because of what he has accomplished in the sport of Gi and No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu. Marcelo started his journey with martial arts by training in Karate at a young age. After training for four years, Marcelo decided to stop training in Karate and moved on to Judo after a year of not training in martial arts.
Judo was Marcelo’s first exposure to the world of grappling. He ended up liking it and joined many local competitions at the time. He cross-trained with Jiu-Jitsu and his Judo coach under the BJJ black belt, Iran Brasileiro, to add more weapons to his arsenal. Having a top-heavy game from his Judo background, Marcelo was fascinated with the development of the guard game in BJJ. He then met Paulo Rezende in a local tournament, which offered him the opportunity to train in Poco de Caldas in exchange for him doing daily chores.
Marcelo swiftly climbed up the Brazilian competitive scene, though his popularity emerged in 2003 after he won the ADCC World Championships at 20. ADCC is highly regarded as the toughest submission grappling tournament. While his identity was unknown to grappling fans then, he shocked the grappling world after convincingly submitting three of his four opponents to win the ADCC gold in a stacked 77 kg division.
Throughout his career, Marcelo competed mainly in the middleweight division but also challenged himself in the absolute multiple times. He then cemented himself as one of the greatest Jiu-Jitsu practitioners of all time by claiming four ADCC titles and winning five IBJJF World Championships — the pinnacle of achievements a grappler may have in No-Gi and Gi Jiu-Jitsu, all while having a high submission rate in his competition run.
Above all, the blueprint he set for the generations that came after him became the catalyst for the modern grappling meta. His signature techniques of attacking from the butterfly guard, which also allowed various transitions to other open guard positions like the single leg X-guard and X-guard, arm-drag to back take, and the infamous “Marcelotine,” have all been followed and further developed by grappling competitors after him.
In 2011, Marcelo stopped competing to focus on teaching in his academy in New York City and his family. He produced numerous top BJJ athletes and continued to become a role model on and off the mats in the grappling community.
Last year, at the age of 41, Marcelo was diagnosed with esophagus cancer that required eight chemotherapy sessions. After a year of battling cancer and grueling chemotherapy sessions, little by little, Marcelo was able to get back to his training and seminar routine.
He has since recovered and is back to full health with his newly opened academy in Hawaii; we can expect some thrilling highlights in his return to the competitive submission grappling scene on the ONE grappling global stage.
Back To Old Form
While it is incredible to see Marcelo in good health and spirits, having him as an active competitor makes things that much sweeter. A treat to grappling fans worldwide, having Marcelo back is like having one of your childhood heroes return to their old form. Marcelo may be modest in stature, but he was always up for the challenge and was known for competing against heavyweight grapplers during his time.
The Legend vs The New Breed
As the world awaits Marcelo’s return to competition, we are absolutely in for a ride, as his arrival to ONE Championship will help introduce many new viewers to the beauty of submission grappling.
It is intriguing to see how Marcelo fares against the current faces of grappling, the likes of Kade and Tye Ruotolo. While the younger talents may have the physical advantage, Marcelo has years of experience competing at the highest level of grappling.
While this may be a hypothetical match-up that grappling fans may want to see, the ideal comeback fight for Marcelo would be against former rivals or grapplers of his generation.
Superfights With Other Grappling Legends After Imanari
Marcelo has faced numerous grappling legends during his time. Looking back, what made his feat exceptional is that he dominated his tough, legend-filled competition during their prime. Both excellent in Gi and No-Gi, Marcelo made sure he took on every prestigious grappling tournament there was at that time. With him back in the competition, and his upcoming fight with Imanari, here are some potentially exciting match-ups that may also be worth making for Marcelo in the future.
1) Shinya Aoki
Shinya is one of ONE Championship’s MMA and grappling stars. In their early days, Marcelo faced Shinya in the quarter-finals of the 2005 ADCC.
2) Andre Galvao
With Andre now retired from the competitive grappling circuit, he and Marcelo have faced each other multiple times in the past, with Marcelo winning all of their engagements (2006 World Championships and 2006 Brazilian Nationals weight division and absolute).
3) Pablo Popovitch
Pablo Popovitch and Marcelo met three times, all in the finals of the 2005, 2007, and 2009 ADCC. Marcelo won the first two ADCCs, and Popovitch got revenge in the 2009 ADCC.
4) Jake Shields
Jake Shields is a member of the infamous scrap pack and a former MMA champion. Marcelo and Shields fought once before at the peak of their respective careers (in 2006), with Marcelo winning their match.
5) Demian Maia
Marcelo and Demian Maia fought once before in the 2006 Brazilian Nationals absolute finals. Demain is one of the most accomplished grapplers to transition into MMA and has made a great statement about the application of Jiu-Jitsu in an MMA setting.
6) Braulio Estima
Throughout their careers, Braulio competes in a weight class heavier than Marcelo. They clashed in the 2009 ADCC absolute quarter-finals with Braulio getting the win.
7) Alexandre Ribeiro
Xande Ribeiro and Marcelo faced twice in their time, which was in the 2004 Brazilian Nationals and the 2005 ADCC absolute, where they battled for bronze.
8) Roger Gracie
While Roger may be weight classes heavier than Marcelo, it’s compelling to think of a match-up between the two. In the past, Roger has prevented Marcelo from getting to the World Championship absolute gold by beating him in the quarter-finals and semi-finals of the 2004 and 2006 World Championships.
Conclusion
Marcelo is ready to give his all and perform to the best of his abilities. Regardless of who he faces in his upcoming super fight matches in ONE Championship, it’s always an honor to be graced by the presence of a BJJ great like Marcelo. Will you be tuning in to watch him at ONE 170? Let us know your thoughts.
You may also like:
The Role Of Strength And Conditioning In BJJ: Do You Really Need To Lift Weights?
