What can we expect from the legendary Marcelo Garcia in ONE Championship?
7 mins read

What can we expect from the legendary Marcelo Garcia in ONE Championship?


After almost 15 years of competitive hiatus, Marcelo Garcia is ready to return to the competitive submission grappling scene. Widely considered one of the GOATs and the most talented grappler in the history of the sport, Marcelo will once again grace us with his presence, this time on the global stage of ONE Championship Submission Grappling. He will face Masakazu “Ashikan-Judan” Imanari at ONE 170 on January 24, 2025.

At 41, the grappling master boasts the highest level of competition experience and knowledge, giving him a significant advantage over his competitors. In this article we talk about what we can expect from Marcelo’s return to his ONE Championship adventure.

Wallpaper by Marcelo Garcia

Born 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 for what he accomplished in the sport of Gi and No-Gi Jiu. -Jitsu. Marcelo began his martial arts journey by training in Karate at a young age. After training for four years, Marcelo decided to stop training in Karate and switched 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 entered many local competitions at the time. He cross-trained with Jiu-Jitsu and his Judo coach under BJJ black belt, Iran Brasileiro, to add more weapons to his arsenal. Having a very heavy game stemming from his Judo background, Marcelo was fascinated by the development of the guard game in BJJ. He then met Paulo Rezende at a local tournament, who offered him the opportunity to train in Poco de Caldas in exchange for his day job.

Marcelo quickly climbed the Brazilian competitive scene, although his popularity emerged in 2003 after winning the ADCC World Championships as a 20-year-old. The ADCC is considered the toughest submission wrestling tournament. Although his identity was unknown to grappling fans back then, he shocked the grappling world after convincingly submitting three of his four opponents to win ADCC gold in a 77kg stacked division.

Throughout his career, Marcelo has competed primarily in the middleweight division, but has also challenged himself several times in the overall. He then established 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 can achieve in No-Gi and Gi Jiu-Jitsu, all while having a high submission rate in its competition run.

Most importantly, the blueprint he established for the generations that came after him became the catalyst for the modern grappling meta. His signature attacking techniques from the butterfly guard, which also allowed various transitions to other open guard positions such as X-guard and single-leg were all followed and further developed by fighting competitors after him.

In 2011, Marcelo stopped competing to focus on teaching at his academy in New York City and his family. He has produced numerous top-level BJJ athletes and has 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 esophageal cancer which required eight sessions of chemotherapy. After a year of fighting cancer and exhausting chemotherapy sessions, Marcelo gradually managed to return 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 electrifying highlights in his return to the competitive submission grappling scene on ONE’s global grappling stage.

Return to the old form

While it’s amazing to see Marcelo in good health and good spirits, having him as an active competitor makes things that much sweeter. A treat for fans everywhere: having Marcelo back is like seeing one of your childhood heroes return to his old form. Marcelo may be modest in stature, but he was always up for a challenge and was known for competing against heavyweight grapplers in his day.

The legend against the new race

As the world awaits Marcelo’s return to competition, we’re definitely down for a ride, as his arrival at ONE Championship will help introduce many new viewers to the beauty of submission wrestling.

It’s intriguing to see how Marcelo fares against the current faces of grappling, like Kade and Tye Ruotolo. While younger talents may have a physical advantage, Marcelo has years of experience competing at the highest level.

While this might be a hypothetical bout that struggling fans might want to see, the ideal comeback fight for Marcelo would be against former rivals or fighters of his generation.

Superfights with other grappling legends after Imanari

Marcelo faced numerous wrestling legends during his time. Looking back, what made his feat exceptional was that he dominated a tough competition full of legends during their prime. Excelling in both Gi and No-Gi, Marcelo made sure to take on every prestigious grappling tournament in existence at the time. With him back in competition and his upcoming bout with Imanari, here are some potentially exciting matchups that could be worth making for Marcelo in the future.

1) Shinya Aoki

Shinya is one of ONE Championship’s MMA and grappling stars. First, Marcelo faced Shinya in the quarterfinals of ADCC 2005.

2) André Galvao

With Andre now retired from the competitive grappling circuit, he and Marcelo have faced each other several times in the past, with Marcelo winning all of their engagements (2006 World Championships and 2006 Brazilian Nationals in the weight and overall divisions).

3) Pablo Popovitch

Pablo Popovitch and Marcelo met three times, all in the 2005, 2007 and 2009 ADCC finals. 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 gang and former MMA champion. Marcelo and Shields fought once at the height of their respective careers (in 2006), with Marcelo winning the match.

5) Demian Maia

Marcelo and Demian Maia fought once in the absolute finals of the 2006 Brazilian Nationals. Demain is one of the most experienced fighters in the transition to MMA and has made a great statement on the application of Jiu-Jitsu in an MMA environment.

6) Braulio Esteem

Throughout their careers, Braulio competes in a heavier weight class than Marcelo. They clashed in the overall quarterfinals of the 2009 ADCC with Braulio taking the win.

7) Alexandre Ribeiro

Xande Ribeiro and Marcelo faced each other twice in their time, at the 2004 Brazilian nationals and the 2005 ADCC overall, where they battled for bronze.

8) Roger Grace

While Roger may be a heavier weight class than Marcelo, it is interesting to think about a match between the two. In the past, Roger prevented Marcelo from achieving overall World Championship 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 ability. Regardless of who he faces in his next super fight bouts in ONE Championship, it is always an honor to be graced by the presence of a BJJ great like Marcelo. Will you be tuning in to watch it on ONE 170? Let us know your thoughts.

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