ONE Championship announced the return of BJJ legend Marcelo Garcia. The submission ace will end his time away from action and return to the mat in the near future under the bright lights.
A true superstar of submission grappling, old and new fans alike will have the chance to see a trailblazer rejoin the sport and compete against a new wave of talented athletes.
While the word retirement was bounced around for Garcia, it never came from Garcia’s own mouth.
“I don’t know if people realize it, but I never retired. Never ever did I say the word ‘retired.’ But it was definitely a plan to take time off of competition for two different reasons,” Garcia remarked to ONE.
“One was that I was just not so excited to go compete, and I felt like I wanted time to focus on something that would make me happier. And at that moment, it was my gym in New York City. I was taking a lot of time, just teaching every day, not traveling, just focusing on my students. And then, once I had a kid, obviously, life turned upside down.
“And then I felt like, ‘Oh, I wanna be the best that I could as a father, as a dad. So I took that time.”
While Garcia did not stop training, the intensity and focus were not fully there without a top opponent. Now that he is ready to return, Garcia feels confident that fire will be relit as he finds motivation in his opponent.
“For the last, like, 10 years, I was not motivated to train hard because I didn’t feel like there was somebody training to beat me. [But having a tough opponent] kinda always pushes me,” Garcia admitted.
“In reality, when you’re training that hard, you have more bad days than good days. But I always felt like, ‘Okay, I can’t avoid this. I can’t rest today. I can’t sleep in. I have to do it.’
“So I always feel like I have more discipline when I feel that somebody is training to go against me. I always feel I have to do more than that person.”
Garcia’s time away was also partly due to medical reasons. In 2023, he revealed that he was diagnosed with stomach cancer.
Thankfully, Garcia’s treatments were successful, and he has been able to return to do what he loves.
“It’s been so long that I haven’t been able to do everything that I would like to do. I feel like now I have the freedom to just do all the things that make me happy,” Garcia stated.
Garcia has had many offers to compete over the years, and he has turned them down. What made ONE different? Respect.
The BJJ legend said it was ultimately how he felt valued him in and out of the ring.
“I just like to be appreciated. I spent so much time in jiu-jitsu. In competition. I feel I always have given my best, and I feel like the appreciation from ONE Championship came at the right time. They value me. They value my time,” the Brazilian remarked.
“And reality is I can name every organization that was trying to convince me to go compete. But then ONE, especially with Leozinho, Leo Vieira is somebody that is close to me, close to my family. He came in for us.
“If I wanna come back, I need to come back to an organization that values my work, that values my time, that appreciates the athlete. And that’s what I felt with ONE.”
Garcia does not plan to roll over for anyone and wants the fans to expect the very best from him when he makes his ONE debut.
“I just know and I can promise that I’ll give everything I have. When I say everything I have, I know I’m gonna give my best, no matter what. I’m prepared to give a match, a fight, that people want to see,” Garcia said.