“You have more bad days than good” - Marcelo Garcia says being a martial artist requires pushing through rough camps
Legendary Brazilian jiu-jitsu fighter Marcelo Garcia is one of the most accomplished BJJ competitors in history. In fact, many consider him to be the pound-for-pound greatest of all time.
But the 41-year-old veteran didn't reach this status in his career by sitting on his laurels. Garcia is a firm believer that the success you experience is equivalent to the work you put in, and he knows just how much work goes into becoming a world champion.
Speaking to ONE Championship in a recent interview, Garcia detailed exactly what it takes to make it to the top of the BJJ mountain, and that means pushing through adversity day in and day out.
The legend said:
"In reality, when you’re training that hard, you have more bad days than good days. But I always felt like, ‘Okay, I can’t avoid this. I can’t rest today. I can’t sleep in. I have to do it.’"
Garcia recently ended his decade-long hiatus from competition and announced he had signed with the world's largest martial arts organization.
Having last competed in 2011, Garcia joins ONE Championship in hopes of testing himself against the sport's best young up-and-coming talent.
Stay tuned to Sportskeeda MMA for all the latest news and updates surrounding Marcelo Garcia's ONE debut.
Marcelo Garcia on the decision to join ONE Championship: "I need to come back to an organization that values my work"
Marcelo Garcia revealed that he had been fielding offers from a number of organizations, but that ultimately, he chose ONE Championship because of how they treat their athletes.
The 41-year-old said:
"I just like to be appreciated. I spent so much time in jiu-jitsu. In competition. I feel I always have given my best, and I feel like the appreciation from ONE Championship came at the right time. They value me. They value my time. And reality is I can name every organization that was trying to convince me to go compete. But then ONE, especially with Leozinho, Leo Vieira is somebody that is close to me, close to my family. He came in for us."
Garcia added:
"If I wanna come back, I need to come back to an organization that values my work, that values my time, that appreciates the athlete. And that’s what I felt with ONE."