Marcelo Garcia (born January 17, 1983) is a Brazilian
submission grappler
Submission wrestling, also known as submission grappling, submission fighting, or simply grappling, is a martial art and combat sport that focuses on ground fighting and submission techniques. It is a hybrid discipline that incorporates element ...
, a 5th degree black belt Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner and coach. A highly decorated competitor, Garcia is widely considered to be one of the best grapplers in the world and arguably the best
pound for pound
Pound for pound is a ranking used in combat sports, such as boxing, wrestling, or mixed martial arts, adjusted to compensate for weight class. As fighters in different weight classes do not compete directly, determining the best fighter pound for ...
submission grappler. Holding 5
World Jiu-Jitsu Championship
The World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournament held annually by the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation. It is widely considered the most important and prestigious jiu-jitsu tournament of the year.
The ...
and 4
ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship
The ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship is an international submission wrestling, submission grappling competition, organised by the Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC). ADCC is considered one of the most prestigious No-Gi submission grappling tou ...
titles, Garcia is a member of the
IBJJF Hall of Fame
List of competitors inducted into the Brazilian jiu-jitsu Hall of Fame by the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF), a for-profit company that hosts several of the biggest Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournaments in the world. The list con ...
and the third BJJ athlete to be inducted into the
ADCC Hall of Fame
List of competitors inducted into the Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) Hall of Fame. The list consists of athletes who have made an outstanding contribution to the sport of submission wrestling throughout their participation at the ADCC Submission F ...
.
Early life
Marcelo Garcia was born on 17 January 1983 in Formiga,
Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil, being the fourth largest state by area and the second largest in number of inhabitants with a population of 20,539,989 according to the 2022 Brazilian census, 2022 census. Located in ...
a small city in southeast Brazil. Garcia won the World Championships at all belt levels (blue, purple, brown) before receiving his black belt from Fabio Gurgel who he trained with in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Career
At
K-1 HERO'S
Hero's was a Japanese mixed martial arts promotion operated by Fighting and Entertainment Group, the parent entity behind kickboxing organization K-1. Grown from and branched off of K-1's earlier experiments in MMA, including the ''K-1 Romanex' ...
Korea 2007, Garcia made his MMA debut. He lost this against Dae Won Kim twenty seconds into the second round by doctor's stoppage, due to a cut above his eye. In September 2008, Garcia opened up a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu school in
Pembroke Pines
Pembroke Pines is a city in southern Broward County, Florida, United States. The city is located 22 miles (35 km) north of Miami. It is a suburb of and the fourth-most populous city in the Miami metropolitan area. The population of Pembroke ...
, a city in
South Florida
South Florida, sometimes colloquially shortened to SoFlo, is the Regions of the United States#Florida, southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the two others are ...
located between
Miami
Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
and
Fort Lauderdale
Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it ...
. In September 2009, Garcia opened an academy in Manhattan, New York City. In November 2011, Garcia retired from competition, that same year he became the third person to be inducted into the ADCC Hall of Fame as a result of his record-setting four gold medals in his own weight division and his performances in the absolute division.
Garcia later opened the first Marcelo Garcia academy in
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...
in 2024.
Return
Garcia announced on November 11, 2024 that he had signed an exclusive contract with
ONE Championship
ONE Championship, formerly ONE Fighting Championship (ONE FC) until January 2015, is a Multinational corporation, multinational combat sports Promoter (entertainment), promotion founded on 14 July 2011 by Chatri Sityodtong and Victor Cui. Origi ...
to make his return to professional grappling at one of their events.
Garcia competed against
Masakazu Imanari
is a Japanese mixed martial artist and submission wrestler. He currently competes in the Bantamweight division of Rizin Fighting Federation. A professional competitor since 2000, he is a veteran of ONE Championship, DEEP, ZST, Pancrase, PRIDE F ...
at
ONE 170
''ONE 170: Tawanchai vs. Superbon 2'' was a combat sports event produced by ONE Championship that took place on January 24, 2025, at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand.
Background
The event marked the promotion's 18th held in Impact Arena ...
on January 24, 2025. He won the match by submission with a north-south choke.
Health
On January 19, 2023, Garcia revealed that he had been diagnosed with
stomach cancer
Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a malignant tumor of the stomach. It is a cancer that develops in the Gastric mucosa, lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a numb ...
and would undergo
chemotherapy
Chemotherapy (often abbreviated chemo, sometimes CTX and CTx) is the type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (list of chemotherapeutic agents, chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) in a standard chemotherapy re ...
and surgery to remove the tumour. After months of treatment and a successful surgery, Garcia had made a recovery.
Carlos Gracie
Carlos Gracie (September 14, 1902October 7, 1994) was a Brazilian martial artist who is credited with being one of the primary developers of Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Along with his younger brother Hélio Gracie and fellow students Luis França a ...
Sr. →
Helio Gracie
Helio may refer to:
* Helio AU-24 Stallion
* Helio (wireless carrier), a defunct American wireless communications provider (2005–2010); originally a joint venture between SK Telecom and EarthLink, purchased by Virgin Mobile USA in 2008
* He ...
→
Rolls Gracie
Rolls Gracie (; 1951–1982) was a Brazilian martial artist. He was a prominent member of the Gracie family known for their founding of Brazilian jiu-jitsu and considered by some the family's best ever fighter. He was teacher of Rickson Gracie, ...
→
Romero "Jacare" Cavalcanti
Romero Cavalcanti (born October 22, 1952) is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu master and the founder of Alliance Jiu Jitsu. He is one of the six men who were promoted to black belt by Rolls Gracie prior to his fatal 1982 hang gliding accident.Fabio Gurgel → Marcelo Garcia
Championships and accomplishments
Garcia has won five world championship titles in Brazilian jiu-jitsu as a black belt in the middle-weight category. He has many submission grappling titles, including the
ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship
The ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship is an international submission grappling competition, organised by the Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC). ADCC is considered one of the most prestigious No-Gi submission grappling tournaments in the world ...
. At ADCC, Garcia has won the 66–76 kg division four times (2003/2005/2007/2011), been awarded the most technical fighter twice (2003 and 2007) and won the best fight award in 2005. In 2005, he finished in third place in the absolute (open weight) division and in 2007 finished second in the absolute division. In ADCC 2009, Garcia finished second in his weight division, losing by points to
Pablo Popovitch
Pablo Popovitch (born September 9, 1979) is a Brazilian Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, jiu-jitsu practitioner, Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and a 4th degree black belt under Jorge Popovitch.
Biography
Pablo Popovitch became involved in BJJ as ...
, whom he had defeated in the two previous finals.
Grappling
;2011
* ADCC World Championship (-77 kg)
* IBJJF World Championship (-82 kg)
;2010
* IBJJF World Championship (-82 kg)
;2009
* ADCC World Championship (-77 kg)
* IBJJF World Championship (-82 kg)
* ACBJJ World Cup (Absolute)
* ACBJJ World Cup (-75 kg)
;2007
* ADCC World Championship (Absolute)
* ADCC World Championship (-77 kg)
* Grapplers Quest: Beast of the East (Superfight Tournament)
* IBJJF Pan American Championship (-82 kg)
;2006
* PSL: X-Mission Superfight Winner
* IBJJF World Championship (Absolute)
* IBJJF World Championship (-82 kg)
* PSL: LA-Sub Superfight Winner
* CBJJ Brazilian National Championship (Absolute)
* CBJJ Brazilian National Championship (-82 kg)
;2005
* Arnold Gracie Pro
* ADCC World Championship (Absolute)
* ADCC World Championship (-77 kg)
;2004
* Arnold Gracie Pro
* IBJJF World Championship (Absolute)
* IBJJF World Championship (-82 kg)
* CBJJ Brazilian National Championship (Absolute)
* CBJJ Brazilian National Championship (-82 kg)
* Campos Submission Wrestling 3 (Absolute)
* Campos Submission Wrestling 3 (-88 kg)
;2003
* ADCC World Championship (-77 kg)
* IBJJF World Championship (-82 kg)
Grappling record
Mixed martial arts record
, -
, Loss
, align=center, 0–1
, Kim Dae-Won
, TKO (cut)
, Hero's 2007
,
, align=center, 2
, align=center, 0:20
,
Seoul
Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...
, South Korea
,
See also
*
AJ Agazarm
AJ Agazarm (born July 26, 1990) is an American submission grappler and mixed martial artist.
A multiple-time champion in colored belts, Agazarm is a black belt world no-gi champion, Pan American no-gi champion, Brazilian national no-gi ch ...
*
Herbert Burns
Herbert Mitchell Pontes Burns (born February 2, 1988) is a Brazilian Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who has competed in the Featherweight (MMA), featherweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and ONE Championship. He is ...