“It’s a new body” - Marcelo Garcia recounts the hard work he’s done to get back into fighting shape after his cancer recovery

Marcelo Garcia continues to prove why he's often considered an icon among Brazilian jiu-jitsu legends.

The Brazilian legend overcame stomach cancer and is now set for an improbable return when he takes on fellow icon Masakazu Imanari in an openweight submission grappling match at ONE 170.

Garcia's return to competition and ONE Championship debut goes down at Impact Arena on Jan. 24.

In an interview with Jordan Teaches Jiu-Jitsu, Garcia recalled how he had to practically adjust to his body after undergoing surgery to remove the tumor in his stomach.

Marcelo Garcia explained:

"I feel like I'm adapting. And once I adapt, like I'm adapting for my new body, it's a new body, they took, like, half of my stomach. So I took a long time to start to be able to eat again. That's what made me lose weight. I lost a lot of weight in the beginning. I put all the weight back pretty much again, but I lost a lot of weight."

Garcia ultimately fully recovered from his surgery and continued teaching his students in Hawaii.

All that time, Garcia felt the itch to compete and eventually signed with ONE Championship in 2024.

Garcia is often described as one of the greatest submission grapplers of all time and the nine-time BJJ world champion has been inducted in both the IBJJF and the ADCC Hall of Fame.

Watch Garcia's entire interview below:

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Marcelo Garcia says he'll exhaust his entire grappling wisdom in his matchup against Masakazu Imanari

While Marcelo Garcia helped carry BJJ in the 2000s, Masakazu Imanari helped revolutionize MMA with his legendary submission finishes.

Imanari is credited for the invention of the "Imanari Roll" which set up his constricting leg locks.

That innovative offensive style ultimately earned the Japanese legend the nickname 'Ashikan Judan' or 'The Great Master of Leg Submissions'.

In an interview with Jits Magazine, Garcia admitted that he'll have to use his deep knowledge of BJJ in his impending super fight against Imanari at ONE 170:

"I have competed so much. So if I have to study every opponent that I ever have - I'm talking about all the legends I have competed against - if I have to get good at defending every opponent, I don't think I have enough life in this world that you can learn to defend every opponent possible."