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ONE Championship has added another legend to its roster by signing BJJ icon Marcelo Garcia to a contract.
This massive news was excitedly announced by the world's largest martial arts organization on their Instagram account, and they captioned the post:
"A LEGEND RETURNS 👑🥋 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu icon Marcelo Garcia is coming out of retirement to compete in ONE submission grappling! Who do you want to see him take on first? @marcelogarciajiujitsu"
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Garcia was a decorated BJJ athlete who won several IBJJF, Pan-American, and national tournaments in Brazil. He also cemented his legacy as one of the best to ever do it by having multiple podium finishes in ADCC.
Fans and even fellow professional athletes, including former two-time UFC title challenger Demian Maia and flyweight submission grappling world title challenger Osamah Almarwai, were hyped for this return of Garcia.
Users @demianmaia, @braulioestima, @leoiturralde, and @osamahalmarwai have sent their reactions through their comments:
"Amazing ! GOAT"s return"
"Whan an amazing news. So happy to see Marcelinho back. What a warrior on and off the mats. Inspirational"
"There is no rival for him ❤️"
"That's awesome 👏🔥"
Marcelo Garcia could face tough competition in his return to action
Garcia has competed in the 170-pound division for most of his career, and he is expected to fight in the same weight class under ONE Championship.
This opens up some mouth-watering matches for him, with possible matchups against other top contenders in the lightweight submission grappling division, such as former ONE lightweight MMA world champion Shinya Aoki, Uali Kurzhev, Matheus Gabriel, Tommy Langaker, and even the reigning ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion Kade Ruotolo.
Regardless of who ONE Championship pits him against for his promotional debut, fans will want to tune in to witness Garcia's BJJ wizardry.
