“Always pushes me” - Marcelo Garcia says having tough opponents is what gets him motivated for fights

Legendary Brazilian jiu-jitsu fighter Marcelo Garcia is making his highly anticipated return to action in the world's largest martial arts organization, and the 41-year-old veteran is excited to take on some of the sport's best young competitors.

Garcia is widely regarded as one of, if not the greatest pound-for-pound competitor BJJ has ever seen. And a couple of weeks ago, the veteran announced that he had signed with ONE Championship because he wanted to test himself again.

Speaking to the promotion in a recent interview, Garcia talked about his decision to return to the sport after a decade on the sidelines.

The decorated BJJ black belt world champion stated:

"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."

Born in a small Brazilian town named Formiga, Garcia earned his black belt under Fabio Gurgel, from the Mitsuya Maeda lineage. He is a former IBJJF and ADCC world champion, and widely considered to be one of the most successful practitioners of the sport.

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Marcelo Garcia says he was gone but not out: "I never retired"

Although his last match was in 2011, BJJ legend Marcelo Garcia says he was never truly done with competing. He was just content with sitting on the sidelines and guiding the next generation of grapplers.

But now that he has an opportunity to compete among the world's best up-and-coming BJJ talent in ONE Championship, Garcia has emerged from the shadows and is looking to wreak havoc.

The 41-year-old told ONE:

"I don’t know if people realize it, but I never retired. Never ever did I say the word ‘retired."

Stay tuned to Sportskeeda MMA for all the latest news and updates surrounding Marcelo Garcia's next fight.