“I can just be myself again” - BJJ royalty Marcelo Garcia recalls returning to the mats after beating cancer

It's been a long road back for BJJ legend Marcelo Garcia.

After more than a decade on the sidelines, the multi-time IBJJF and ADCC world champion will return to the mat as part of a stacked ONE 170 card inside Impact Arena in Bangkok this Friday, January 24.

During his time away from the grappling game, Garcia found himself fighting for his life after being diagnosed with stomach cancer. Fortunately, chemotherapy and successful surgery to remove the tumor has found the Brazilian star with a clean bill of health.

Looking back on his battle with cancer, Garcia told ONE Championship:

“My doctor, she didn’t promise anything. She’s like, ‘I’ve never dealt with somebody that young that has your type of cancer, so I don’t know what you’re gonna be able to do.’ So I didn’t know if I was gonna be able to train."

He added:

“For me, when I was able to go back to training, I started to feel like, ‘Oh, I think I can live with this. I feel like I can roll normal. I feel like I can teach. I feel like I can go upside down if I have to, and I wouldn’t feel the food going up my throat."

He concluded:

“[My doctor] didn’t guarantee me anything. So when I was able to go back to training, I felt like, ‘Okay, I can work again. I can just be myself again.’ So that was the best feeling for me when I went back to training.”

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Marcelo Garcia meets Masakazu Imanari in his ONE Championship debut

Returning to the mat for the first time since his history-making run at the 2011 ADCC world championship, Marcelo Garcia is scheduled to square off with Japanese MMA icon Masakazu Imanari in his ONE Championship debut.

It all goes down this Friday, January 24 when the promotion delivers a stacked ONE 170 card inside Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand.

While it will be Garcia's first time competing on martial arts' biggest global stage, ONE Championship fans are more than familiar with Imanari.

In mixed martial arts competition, Imanari has squared off with the likes of Kevin Belingon and Kwon Won Il. He also went toe-to-toe with former ONE flyweight submission grappling world titleholder Mikey Musumeci in an all-grappling affair.

Will Garcia reintroduce himself to the BJJ world and pick up right where he left off, or will the father of the famous Imanari roll spoil the Brazilian's big return?

ONE Championship fans can catch ONE 170 live on Friday, January 24 at watch.onefc.com.