“Crazy how our bodies adapt” - BJJ legend Marcelo Garcia admits he felt like he returned to square one after cancer recovery

Marcelo Garcia admitted that one of the toughest battles he had on the mats was the one he had after he recovered from cancer.

The Brazilian jiu-jitsu legend revealed in an interview with ONE Championship that he nearly forgot his arsenal after an almost year-long absence from practicing 'The Gentle Art'.

Garcia said that since he couldn't train during his recovery, much of his BJJ tendencies almost eluded him.

Marcelo Garcia said:

"And the crazy thing is how it’s just a year ago that I finished my treatment, but it feels like it’s been so long. I’m not gonna lie, I almost forgot everything. It’s just crazy how our bodies adapt. It’s just crazy how our mind forgets about things, too.”

Being the legend he is, though, Garcia gradually got into form and returned to the calm yet dominant force that he was in BJJ.

Garcia didn't compete after his battle against cancer and was content with teaching his students and being a full-time dad to his children.

That itch to compete, however, never left the nine-time BJJ world champion and he elected to return to the action when he signed with ONE Championship in 2024.

Garcia is now set for a legendary debut when he takes on Japanese MMA icon Masakazu Imanari in an openweight submission grappling matchup at the stacked ONE 170 card on Friday, Jan. 24, at Impact Arena.

The entire ONE 170 card is available live at watch.onefc.com.

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Marcelo Garcia plans to go all out against Masakazu Imanari

Marcelo Garcia is ready to leave it all on the line when he makes his ONE Championship debut against Masakazu Imanari.

While Garcia helped carry the torch for BJJ in the 2000s, Imanari produced similar magic in MMA.

Imanari is widely considered one of the greatest submission experts in MMA, with 'Ashikan Judan' collecting 29 submission wins during his career.

In an interview with the JitsCast podcast, Garcia said he can't be too callous against Imanari but promised fans that he'll leave it all on the line against the Japanese legend.

"One thing that I know, I guarantee, whenever I go and compete, is that I will always go and give everything that I have. I never now whether it's going to be enough, and I never promise whether I'm going to win, I never did that in my life."