Watch Marcelo Garcia submit Masakazu Imanari with a north-south choke at ONE 170 in Bangkok, Thailand.
After 14 years away from competition, legendary BJJ competitor Marcelo Garcia enjoyed a triumphant return on January 24 at ONE 170 when he submitted Japanese MMA veteran Masakazu Imanari. The pair competed in a 10-minute submission grappling contest in front of a sold-out crowd at Bangkok’s Impact Arena.
Garcia controlled the action on the feet early, pushing his adversary against the cage wall before securing a clean single-leg takedown. From there, he worked patiently and methodically to pass Imanari’s half-guard, ultimately achieving side control about two and a half minutes into the match.
Before long, Garcia transitioned to mount where he began to hunt for an arm-triangle choke. Imanari stayed tight with his defense, though, forcing the Brazilian icon to transition directly into his trademark north-south choke. Garcia secured the tight grip, sunk his hips down, and earned the tap just before the match’s midpoint.
Watch the full match between Marcelo Garcia and Masakazu Imanari below.
The victory marks Garcia’s first win and the first time he has competed since he won gold at the 2011 ADCC World Championships. With five IBJJ World Titles in the gi and four ADCC World Titles, the 42-year-old is widely recognized as the best BJJ competitor in history.
After the match, Garcia was asked who he’d like to face next and when. He said that he was originally slated to face former ONE lightweight MMA world champion Shinya “Tobikan Judan” Aoki in his promotional debut, and that’s still a match he’d like to take. And, because he’s so late in his career, Garcia indicated that he doesn’t want to wait long before he competes again.
“I have a lot of fights on my contract. I didn’t wait 13 years, almost 14 years to do this and wait… There is a man that was supposed to before this one. Shinya Aoki was supposed to be my first one so I’m still ready for him. He was the one that I was looking forward to do for my first match.”
