“Jiu-jitsu can be a lot better than it is” - BJJ royalty Marcelo Garcia comments on the state of modern-day submission grappling

Grappling legend Marcelo Garcia has seen the sport of jiu-jitsu developing in recent years, and not necessarily for the better.

After spending over a decade on the shelf, the multi-time BJJ world champion will return to the mat on Friday, January 24 for a showdown with Japanese icon Masakazu Imanari.

It will be Garcia's first time competing since he topped the podium at the ADCC Submission Fighting World Championships in 2011.

Appearing on the Jordan Teaches Jiu-Jitsu podcast ahead of his highly anticipated return, the five-time IBJJF world champion spoke about the current state of BJJ. He said:

"I see jiu-jitsu just keeps evolving. When I say evolve, like, not always for the better, but it keeps changing. But I see a new move, new techniques but like, obviously, I believe it can get a lot better. I believe if we put our time and our minds to it too, jiu-jitsu can be a lot better than it is right now."

Watch the full interview:

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Marcelo Garcia speaks out against the rampant PED use in jiu-jitsu

One of Marcelo Garcia's biggest gripes with the sport today is the amount of athletes allegedly using PEDs to gain a competitive advantage.

Throughout his illustrious career, Garcia is proud to say that he's never once taken that shortcut to success — unlike some of today's younger talent. Garcia addressed this during his conversation with Ariel Helwani. He said:

"I'm the only one that can prove for myself that I never have to use any of those things. To feel that probably a lot of people are using it at the time they're competing against me, and to feel that a lot of young people today need to use that, and to feel that I never have to, it's a big accomplishment for myself."

He further added:

"I say for myself because I cannot make other people believe in me, but to know that I never have to do that, and to remember everything I did with the opponents that are probably using that, it feels good."

Fans in the United States and Canada can watch ONE 170: Tawanchai vs. Superbon II airing live on Amazon Prime Video on Friday, January 24 in U.S. primetime.