“Feels like a dream” - Marcelo Garcia performs in front of his kids for the first time in career at ONE 170

BJJ legend Marcelo Garcia competed for the first time in front of his children, which made his return to action after over a decade away from competition last week all the more significant.

The Brazilian fighter was a submission winner over Japan's Masakazu Imanari in their openweight submission grappling clash at ONE 170 on Jan. 24 at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand. He showcased his skills that made him a jiu-jitsu icon, punctuated by a north-south choke for the win midway into the match.

Garcia did it with daughter Olivia and son Joey, in attendance to catch their father compete for the first time. Also present was his wife Tatiana.

In the post-fight interview with ONE commentator Mitch Chilson inside the Circle, Marcelo Garcia spoke about what it meant to him to have his children in tow for his comeback fight.

He said:

"Look, I just said it just feels like a dream. But my kids never saw me compete. I never competed after I had my kids. So they never had a chance to see this. When I was doing this, we didn’t have them before. So now, I’m competing and now I have my kids, so I have the best world. I have the best team. I want to thank all my team, all my coaches, everybody who just helped me so much. I love you guys."

Before unretiring and competing at ONE 170, Marcelo Garcia was last in action at the ADCC in 2011, where he won his fourth gold medal. In retirement, he spent much-needed quality time with his family while also teaching BJJ.

In 2023, he was diagnosed with stomach cancer but sent it into remission after a year.

The full replay of ONE 170 is available on watch.ONEFC.com.

Marcelo Garcia looking forward to possible match with fellow legend Shinya Aoki next

Following his impressive victory at ONE 170, Marcelo Garcia looks to continue moving forward in his ONE Championship journey, and he wants fellow legend Shinya Aoki to be his opponent next.

He shared this in the same post-fight interview with Mitch Chilson, pointing out Aoki was supposed to be his opponent in his ONE debut until plans for it fell through. Garcia said:

"He (Aoki) was the one who I was supposed to fight for my first match, but for some reason, he couldn't wait for me. Now I'm still here, so I hope I can get this match back with him."

'Tobikan Judan' was last in action last month in a lightweight submission grappling clash with ONE newcomer Cole Abate of the United States.