"Jiu-jitsu just was getting easy" - Marcelo Garcia says long break from competition renewed his passion for BJJ

BJJ royalty Marcelo Garcia will make his highly anticipated return to action on Jan. 24 at ONE 170, where he will lock horns with Japanese submission specialist Masakazu Imanari in an openweight submission grappling match inside the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand.

Before he returns to action, Garcia was a recent guest on JitsCast, and he narrated how his lengthy sabbatical from the sport has helped him reclaim his passion for the gentle art. Garcia said:

"But imagine, I took a time from competition since 2011. 2011 I felt like I wanted to spend more time growing my gym. I wanted to spend more time teaching my students. I felt like...I have to admit that I felt like jiu-jitsu just was getting easy for me when I was going to the competitions. So that was not making me so excited."

Watch Marcelo Garcia's full interview here:

Apart from losing the fire in going to competition because he felt that winning competitions was already easy for him, the Brazilian legend also had to battle cancer during this stretch.

Marcelo Garcia appreciates life more now after being diagnosed with cancer

The 41-year-old icon also explained how he feels now navigating through life after his diagnosis of cancer. According to him, he now appreciates the little things in life more than he did before.

Garcia revealed this during a recent interview with Jordan Teaches Jiu-Jitsu, where he said:

"It always makes you appreciate, like the days, that everything is going well. When you have like a very s****y day, you know what I mean? It makes you feel like, okay. I just wish it was not a day like today. I just wish it was just like yesterday. But I don't think I appreciate life more than I did before."

North American viewers with an active Prime Video subscription can watch all the action at ONE 170 on Jan. 24. The card airs live from the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand, in U.S. primetime.