Marcelo Garcia’s signing with ONE Championship made waves around the world of jiu-jitsu. The next wave has now come ashore, as the Brazilian has his first match scheduled. At ONE 170, Garcia meets Masakazu Imanari in an openweight submission grappling contest.
On January 24, 2025, Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand, will be roaring for the return of the BJJ ace. The 41-year-old has not competed since winning gold at the 2011 ADCC World Championships. The highly decorated grappling legend will look to shine once again, this time on the global stage.
DREAM MATCH 🤩🥋 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu legend Marcelo Garcia will make his ONE debut against Japanese leg lock master Masakazu Imanari in an openweight submission grappling showdown on January 24 at ONE 170! Who you got?#ONE170 | Jan 24 7:30PM ICT/7:30AM ET
🌎 Live TV broadcast… pic.twitter.com/ig8fYJbX2d— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) December 4, 2024
During his absence from competing, Garcia has remained in the gym, training and teaching. He grew his gym as a business, raised his children, and battled cancer in 2023. Healthy and motivated to show his children what he can do on the canvas, he is energized to make his ONE debut next month.
The five-time IBJJF World Champion will have his hands full. Imanari is a talented submission artist himself, with a long list of finishes to his credit. Most notably, the Japanese star innovated the “Imanari Roll” to secure heel hooks, a technique that has become widespread.
Garcia will want to avoid playing a chess game of leglocks with Imanari. Instead, the Brazilian will try to implement his own game and control the action. The openweight contest will be an intriguing matchup of two submission masters on a night filled with incredible action from top to bottom.
ONE 170 airs live on Friday, January 24. The event emanates from the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand. The action begins at 7:30 a.m. EST/4:30 a.m. PST.
