“There's the option” - Marcelo Garcia not closing the door on competing in ADCC and CJI in his return to competition

After ending a nearly 15-year-long absence from the sport of submission grappling, Marcelo Garcia is keeping all of his options open.

The last time Garcia competed, he ran the table at the 2011 ADCC Submission Fighting World Championships. It was his fourth-time topping the podium at the coveted event and the multi-time world champion is not ruling out a potential return to the ADCC stage.

During a recent appearance on the JitsCast podcast, Garcia left the door open should an opportunity to compete at the ADCC's or the Craig Jones Invitational present itself.

"I like to do one thing at a time," Garcia said. "But I even have an exclusive contract with ONE. I believe like I’ll able to compete in those IBJJF tournaments, ADCC, and maybe CJI, if it doesn’t have any conflict with the dates."

He added:

"So there's the option. But I like to just do one thing at a time. It is already like a big step for me to come back to the competition."

Watch the full interview:

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Marcelo Garcia meets Japanese superstar Masakazu Imanari at ONE 170

As exciting as it would be to see Garcia gun for a fifth ADCC title, ONE Championship fans will get to soak in the BJJ icon's first match in more than a decade when he makes his highly anticipated return to action at ONE 170 on Friday, January 24.

Emanating from the Madison Square Garden of the East — Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand — Garcia will square off with Japanese MMA superstar Masakazu Imanari in a battle of true BJJ legends.

Garcia goes into his ONE Championship debut boasting an impressive 85-17 record with 65% of his wins coming inside the distance.

Will the fourth-degree BJJ black belt pick up right where he left off in 2011 and add another noteworthy name to his already stellar resume, or will the father of the Imanari roll spoil the Brazilian's comeback?

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