Marcelo Garcia says he was offered to fight another legend prior to upcoming ONE debut against Masakazu Imanari at ONE 170

Legendary Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) athlete Marcelo Garcia will make his ONE Championship debut against fellow icon Masakazu Imanari at ONE 170 on Jan. 24, 2025, inside the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand. However, he was originally set to face a different Japanese grappling great.

Appearing as a guest on The Ariel Helwani Show, Garcia divulged that former ONE lightweight MMA world champion Shinya Aoki was supposed to welcome him to ONE:

"It was definitely supposed to be Shinya Aoki. But I guess we took a long time to organize the contract, to go over all this stuff, and he ended up signing up [against] another opponent."

The five-time IBJJF world champion added:

"So I ended up facing Imanari. I believe it's going to be a good fight."

Watch the entire interview below:

As Garcia mentioned, 'Tobikan Judan' went on to face another opponent — promotional debutant and 20-year-old BJJ phenom 'Ice' Cole Abate — at ONE Fight Night 26 this past Friday, Dec. 6.

Garcia facing the inventor of the 'Imanari Roll' is a once-in-a-lifetime matchup, owing to their statures in the BJJ community and the accolades they have earned throughout their careers.

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Marcelo Garcia sheds light on his motivations for returning to the sport

Marcelo Garcia's ONE 170 matchup with Masakazu Imanari will mark his first bout since winning gold in the 77kg division of the 2011 ADCC World Championship. In the finals, he defeated the current Vice President of Grappling for ONE Championship, Leo Vieira.

In an interview with ONE, Garcia revealed what convinced him to return to the sport:

"For the last, like, 10 years, I was not motivated to train hard because I didn't feel like there was somebody training to beat me. [But having a tough opponent] kinda always pushed me."