Chatri Sityodtong names Marcelo Garcia “one of the greatest of all time”

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu legend Marcelo Garcia has long been regarded as one of the greatest submission artists the sport has ever seen. Even after being forced to retire in 2011, the grappling world had not forgotten him.

One of those who has admired the Brazilian submission star is ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong. The promotion’s frontman also holds a black belt in BJJ, having earned it from renowned combat sports icon Renzo Gracie.

A student of the game, Sityodtong quickly became appreciative of Garcia’s skill set. But after cancer forced the legend out of competition 14 years ago, nobody ever thought they’d see Garcia step on the mats again.

Not only that, but the world of submission grappling had evolved into a different beast over the course of his hiatus from competition. The sport reached new territories around the world, with even more highly skilled competitors emerging to the forefront.

Understandably, it came as a shock to many to see Garcia sign with ONE Championship and announce his return to competition.

ONE Championship has an abundance of elite grapplers on its roster ready to tangle with “Marcelinho.” But Sityodtong is confident in saying that, if Garcia can claim gold in ONE, there can be no argument as to who is the best to ever do it.

“One of the greatest of all time is arguably Marcelo Garcia. The last few years he’s been battling cancer, but he’s cancer-free now. That’s why he wanted one big last run,” he said on The Tim Ferriss Show.

“If he wins a World Title in ONE, he’ll retire as arguably the greatest of all time.”

Chatri Sityodtong wants Marcelo Garcia vs Tye Ruotolo super-fight

The next generation of submission grapplers have already arrived in ONE Championship. But the old guard remains strong in the promotion, too.

That’s exactly why the promotion’s Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong wants to find out which generation is stronger.

On an episode of The Tim Ferriss Show, Sityodtong revealed his plans to pit Brazilian legend Marcelo Garcia against reigning ONE Welterweight Submission Grappling World Champion Tye Ruotolo later this year.

Garcia’s return to action after 14 years took place this past January at ONE 170 versus combat sports icon Masakazu Imanari. And Sityodtong was in awe of how well “Marcelinho” performed to secure a north-south choke victory.

Meanwhile, Ruotolo has been a dominant champ in the division, going 8-0 overall. So Sityodtong believes it’s the biggest matchup possible in the world.

“Garcia will compete later this year in ONE. He made his debut in January. He fought Imanari – a leg lock specialist from Japan. Because he’d gone through cancer the last few years, he didn’t know how he was going to come back,” he said.

“And he just put on a flawless, unbelievable performance. He crushed Imanari. He made him look like a blue belt – and that’s no disrespect to Imanari.

“So I do want to do Marcelo Garcia versus Tye Ruotolo. I think that will be the most-watched jiu-jitsu match in history because of their epic storylines and their styles.”