Marcelo Garcia loves BJJ.
On Friday, January 24, the four-time ADCC world champion makes his long-awaited return to the mat when ONE Championship heads back to Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand for a loaded ONE 170 card.
On that night, Garcia will square off with Japanese legend Masakazu Imanari in a battle between two of the greatest grapplers the sport has ever seen.
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It will be Garcia's first time competing since 2011, bringing an end to a 14-year break that saw him father children and successfully battle a cancer diagnosis.
As for what brought him back to the grappling game after so many years, it all came down to his undying love for the sport and competing against the best in the world.
"I'm in love with this sport," Garcia said on The Ariel Helwani Show. "I'm a lover of this sport. And when I say to this sport, like I like to feel, I like to train. I like to go compete. I like to feel all the people’s techniques. When I say technique, I want to feel their games. I love to be able to just kind of like see how can I go against [them]."
Without BJJ, Marcelo Garcia felt like something was missing from his life
While Marcelo Garcia has stayed plenty busy during his time away from the grappling game, the five-time IBJJF world champion couldn't help but feel like something was missing from his life while sitting on the sidelines.
"I'm going to compete against Imanari, the MMA legend," Garcia said. "Yeah, I don't know. Just from the names that I guess you mentioned before, that I competed [against] before, I never really choose [my] opponent, you know? I never base to go compete on who I was going to compete [against]."
He added:
"But obviously, I was so busy at home with my family. So I feel like now is the time and to have that feeling to not know what's going to happen. But at the same time, you just never know what could happen. I feel like that's what was missing the most in my life, going [to] compete."
Are you excited to see Garcia back in action in 2025?
Fans in the United States and Canada can watch ONE 170: Tawanchai vs. Superbon II will air live on Amazon Prime Video on Friday, January 24 in U.S. primetime.