Australian grappling pioneer Lachlan Giles was content in retirement, but the allure of facing the greatest Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competitor of all time proved impossible to resist for the Melbourne native.
The 39-year-old makes his promotional debut against Marcelo Garcia in a lightweight submission grappling dream match at ONE Fight Night 38: Andrade vs. Baatarkhuu on Prime Video, broadcasting live in U.S. primetime from Bangkok on Friday, 5 December.
Since his last competition at the 2022 ADCC World Championships, Giles has enjoyed family life whilst managing Absolute MMA, teaching classes, sharing technical brilliance through online instructional videos, and raising two children with his wife.
But fate came calling in 2025 when ONE Championship Vice President of Grappling Tom DeBlass presented Giles with an offer he couldn't refuse - a once-in-a-lifetime shot at the BJJ legend.
"I'd seen a few threads on Reddit where people were talking about who Marcelo should fight next. My name got thrown up there quite a few times," Giles said. "I was quite happy being retired, but just before CJI, Tom DeBlass reached out. He said, 'Would you take a match with Marcelo?' I thought about it, and I was like, 'I can't turn this down. '"
The Aussie's reverence for his opponent runs deep, as Garcia captured four ADCC World Championships and five IBJJF World Titles, cementing him as the best pound-for-pound grappler of his era.
Garcia's journey is equally as inspiring. After beating stomach cancer in 2023, the 43-year-old Brazilian returned from a 15-year hiatus to submit Masakazu "Ashikan-Judan" Imanari at ONE 170 in January.
"From a jiu-jitsu point of view, he's incredible. He's the best ever. I think you can call him the greatest of all time," Giles said. "You look at the people that Marcelo has beaten and how he's done it. His submission rate is very high.
"Obviously, leg locks, if I can get them," Giles concluded when asked how he'd win. "I want to show I can do more than that. "
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