“Be Marcelo Garcia” - Adriano Moraes, fans have nothing but love for BJJ legend Marcelo Garcia’s return to action at ONE 170

BJJ legend Marcelo Garcia is set to make his return to competition later this month. It is a comeback being welcomed with open arms by fellow fighters and fans, who cannot wait to see one of the best in the game and a genuine good guy in action.

The four-time ADCC gold medal winner is unretiring and will be making his ONE Championship debut on Jan. 24 at ONE 170 at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand. He will take on veteran Japanese fighter Masakazu Imanari in an openweight submission grappling showdown.

It will be Garcia's first competition since calling it a career in jiu-jitsu in 2011 and spending time with his family and attending to his other passions.

ONE recently shared a carousel of photos and videos on Instagram of the BJJ icon's journey in the lead-up to ONE 170, including beating stomach cancer in 2023.

Check out the post below:

The post garnered a lot of reactions, including one from former ONE flyweight MMA world champion Adriano Moraes, who hailed Marcelo Garcia as a legend in the battlefield and outside of it. 'Mikinho' wrote:

"In a world of Mcgregors be Marcelo Garcia ! OSS"

Be Marcelo Garcia

Another fighter, Charles Rosa, highlighted the inspirational story and brilliant talent of Marcelo Garcia, saying:

"Amazing story brilliant jiujitsu mind and nicest person 🙌"

Amazing in more ways than one

Below are screenshots of what others had to say about Garcia and his return:

A true winner and legend

Before retiring from competition, Garcia won 15 straight matches to take his professional career record to 80-11.

ONE 170 is available on the ONE YouTube channel and Facebook (geo-restrictions may apply) as well as on watch.ONEFC.com.

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Marcelo Garcia says he is ready to prove his doubters wrong in his return

Comebacking BJJ star Marcelo Garcia is aware that there are people who are doubting if he still has it to compete at a high level after a long time away from competition. He, however, said he is ready to prove them wrong when plunges into action at ONE 170 on Jan. 24 against Masakazu Imanari of Japan.

He shared this in an interview with JitsMagazine back in December, saying that he is already used to proving to people his worth, and his upcoming return is no different.

The now-42 year old Brazilian legend said:

"But at the same time, I feel like I have to prove that I have good jiu-jitsu. I always feel like I have to prove that. For example, back in the day, people from my state in Brazil, it was known to have not good jiu-jitsu."

Despite away from competition for over a decade, Garcia said he has kept himself sharp and in shape by training his students in his academy.