Decorated ADCC champion Marcelo Garcia is returning to competition in his forties.
After years of retirement and a transition to coaching, Marcelo Garcia is heading back to the mats as an active competitor again.
The Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) star is known for his legendary ADCC runs in the 2000s, and ended up as a nine-time world champion across gi and no gi. Interestingly enough, Garcia is making a return to competition after more than a decade since his last match.
As announced on Monday, Garcia has signed a deal with ONE Championship.
Marcelo Garcia To Return To BJJ Competition After Beating Cancer
Garcia is turning 42 in January.
More than his age, what’s more surprising about this return is that he was previously diagnosed with stomach cancer. After multiple surgeries and months of chemo therapy, Garcia was eventually declared cancer free late in 2023.
He revealed that his final chemo therapy session was on September 7, 2023, and was back on the mats soon after.
Jiu-jitsu fans seem to have mixed emotions to the news, with elation on Garcia being fully healthy again, to worries about potential opponents or getting stuck in ONE Championship’s notoriously restrictive contracts.
Simultaneously the best and worst news possible https://t.co/DaDUOtGZwR
— William – Open Note Grappling (@OpenNoteGrapple) November 11, 2024
Marcelo Garcia Got ‘Very Close’ To Facing Charles Oliveira at CJI
Prior to this signing, there were already mumblings about a return, with Marcelo Garcia admitting to have negotiated for a return at the inaugural Craig Jones Invitational (CJI).
“We got very close,” Marcelo Garcia said about potentially returning with CJI. “Negotiations took a while, it took too long. Very close to the day, then I couldn’t concentrate anymore… I was not sure if I was going to fight or not, then we finished the negotiation.
“I will tell you the will to fight is still big,” Garcia added.
Craig Jones also confirmed these negotiations, saying that he tried to book Marcelo Garcia in a super-fight with a former UFC champion.
“I was trying to book Marcelo vs. Charles Oliveira,” Craig Jones revealed. “I think that would’ve been incredible.”
Negotiations didn’t materialize in time, but Jones previously said he hoped it can still happen at CJI 2 in 2025. With this news about Garcia’s ONE signing, it’s unclear if that could still be a possibility.
Marcelo Garcia’s legendary career
While Andre Galvao and Gordon Ryan went on to win more total gold medals in the decade after, Marcelo Garcia still currently holds the record for most ADCC titles in regular weight divisions. He has four ADCC golds and five world titles in the gi, but Marcelo is perhaps more known for taking silver and bronze medals as the smallest competitor in absolute divisions.
While Garcia even undersized in his 170 pound division, he holds wins over heavyweight champion grapplers like former UFC champ Ricco Rodriguez, UFC heavyweight Gabriel Gonzaga and BJJ legend Cyborg Abreu. Apart from wins over BJJ greats like Andre Galvao, Garcia also has wins over other grapplers turned UFC stars like Demian Maia, Thales Leites, Babalu Sobral, Renzo Gracie, Jake Shields, Diego Sanchez and Kron Gracie.
Marcelo Garcia was also a catalyst to evolving several jiu-jitsu techniques, from his iconic butterfly guard and arm drags, to his trademark “Marcelotine” and north-south chokes.
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