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Marcelo Garcia explained how Leo Vieira convinced him to end his retirement.
Garcia is widely considered one of the greatest Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competitors of all time. The Brazilian legend has secured first-place finishes in the IBJJF World Championship x5, IBJJF Pan Championship, and ADCC x4.
Following a thirteen-year layoff, Garcia signed with ONE Championship to grow the promotion's expansion into submission grappling. During an interview with 'Jordan Teaches Jiujitsu,' Garcia had this to say about returning to competition:
"Leo Vieira convinced me to sign up with ONE. He's a close friend of mine, so he was able to just kind of get me on the right time because I feel a lot of people try."
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Garcia continued:
"When I say a lot of people like, I feel like every organization reached out to me, but Leo, who was the person that reached out to me from ONE, was the one that kind of was able to just get everything organized at the right time. You know everything sounds perfect now."
Garcia's last competition was at the 2011 ADCC tournament. Thanks to ONE Championship Vice President of Grappling Leo Vieira, fans have an opportunity to watch Garcia further his legacy and create more history.
Watch Garcia's entire interview with 'Jordan Teaches Jiujitsu' below:
Marcelo Garcia looks to make statement in ONE Championship debut
On Jan. 24, 2025, Marcelo Garcia will make his ONE Championship debut. The Brazilian legend has been matched up against the well-respected Masakazu Imanari for an openweight bout at ONE 170.
Imanari's promotional tenure has been highlighted by six MMA appearances, winning three by first-round submission. The 48-year-old also competed in one grappling bout, suffering a loss inside the distance against Mikey Musumeci.
ONE 170 goes down inside the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand. The upcoming event can be seen live and for free by North American and Canadian viewers with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.
ONE 170 features at least two world title fights. In the main event, Tawanchai will defend his featherweight Muay Thai throne in a rematch against Superbon. As for the co-main event, Superlek looks to defend his bantamweight Muay Thai strap for the first time against Nico Carrillo.
