Marcelo Garcia says absolute division allows smaller athletes to prove the effectiveness of BJJ: "There's no better way"

Marcelo Garcia is a pioneer in his own right following the impact and success that he has had in the Brazilian jiu-jitsu realm.

The Brazilian is a legendary competitor at the highest level, and his presence has continued to be felt in the sport thanks to his gym and the students that he has trained.

However, now it is time for Garcia to step back into the spotlight for himself after deciding to resume his competition chapter.

He is set to make his submission grappling debut in ONE Championship at ONE 170 on Jan. 24. At the Impact Arena in Bangkok, he will take on Japanese icon Masakazu Imanari in an openweight grappling contest.

In an interview with the JitsCast, he spoke about how competing at openweight was a decision that he made for a specific reason. He believes that it will give him the best opportunity to show what he has been working on during his time away from competition:

"So I always felt like I want to prove that I like, I've been training really hard. I have to prove that like I've been sharpening my jiu-jitsu. So I feel like there's no better way for somebody small to prove and to show your jiu-jitsu and display them in the absolute [division]."

Watch the full interview below:

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Marcelo Garcia has a point to prove

When Marcelo Garcia initially made the decision to stop competing, he had nothing left to prove.

He'd been there and done it all, but his return isn't motivated by the pursuit of a specific goal or accomplishment.

Garcia simply wants to show that he's still a top-level competitor even though he hasn't been active for over a decade.

This return is about displaying what he's capable of and the multi-time BJJ world champion wants nothing more than a victory on Jan. 24 in Bangkok, Thailand.