Marcelo Garcia
Arm drags, guillotines and relentless forward attacks
- Born
- January 17, 1983, Formiga, Minas Gerais, Brazil
- Nationality
Brazil- Style
- Arm-drag butterfly attacker
- Weight
- Middleweight, ADCC -77 kg
- Active
- 2002–2011, 2025–present
- Status
- Active · age 43
The record
BJJ Heroes record in major events, 2002-2025: wins by 55 submissions, 25 on points, 2 on advantages; 7 of 18 losses by submission. Includes his 2025 return with ONE Championship.
5× IBJJF World Champion, 4× ADCC
The story
arcelo Garcia came to jiu-jitsu from karate and judo in the small town of Formiga, Minas Gerais, and earned his black belt under Fabio Gurgel at Alliance. Between 2003 and 2011 he won four ADCC titles at 77 kg and five IBJJF world titles at middleweight, and he regularly entered the absolute to take on much bigger men. His game popularised the X-guard, the arm drag to the back and the high-wrist guillotine, and his submission rate made him one of the most copied grapplers of his generation. He retired in 2011 after opening academies in Florida and New York, and that year became the third inductee of the ADCC Hall of Fame. After treatment for stomach cancer in 2023, he returned in 2025 under a ONE Championship contract and submitted Masakazu Imanari.
Tap a technique with an arrow to learn how it works.
- IBJJF World champion (2004, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011; middleweight)
- ADCC champion (2003, 2005, 2007, 2011; -77 kg)
- Pan American champion (2007)
- Brazilian National champion (2004; 2006 weight and absolute)
- IBJJF Hall of Fame
- ADCC Hall of Fame (2011, third inductee)
Defining matches
- 2003WINvs Otto Olsen (rear-naked choke, ADCC -77 kg final)
- 2005LOSSvs Ronaldo Souza (kimura, ADCC absolute semi-final)
- 2007LOSSvs Robert Drysdale (darce choke, ADCC absolute final)
- 2011WINvs Leonardo Vieira (triangle, ADCC -77 kg final)
- 2025WINvs Masakazu Imanari (north-south choke, ONE 170)
Copy Marcelo's arm drag to the back: pull the opponent's wrist across your body, reach over to grab the back of their triceps, and move to the side you dragged toward so you land behind them, seated or standing.
