"I look up to him a lot" - Lachlan Giles speaks highly of Marcelo Garcia ahead of highly anticipated showdown

(From left) BJJ superstars Lachlan Giles and Marcelo Garcia. [Images: ONE Championship and Instagram @lachlan_giles https://www.instagram.com/reel/DN9AbDqDK0f/]
(From left) BJJ superstars Lachlan Giles and Marcelo Garcia. [Images: ONE Championship and Instagram @lachlan_giles https://www.instagram.com/reel/DN9AbDqDK0f/]

Lachlan Giles has spent years studying Marcelo Garcia's techniques, but the respect extends far beyond what happens on the mats.

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The 39-year-old Australian submission grappling icon faces the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu legend in their lightweight submission grappling showcase at ONE Fight Night 38 on Friday, December 5, inside Bangkok's legendary Lumpinee Stadium.

In a pre-fight interview with the promotion, the Australian BJJ veteran revealed that Garcia's character as a person and ambassador for the sport matters just as much as his four ADCC world championships and five IBJJF world titles.

"He always seems very happy, [always] smiling. I've trained at his gym before, he's very welcoming. I haven't heard him ever do any trash talk or anything like that. I look up to him a lot from that side too, and I think he's been a great ambassador for the sport," Lachlan Giles shared.
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That's the kind of praise you can't fake.

Giles has actually been to Garcia's gym and witnessed how the 42-year-old Brazilian legend treats people when cameras aren't rolling.

The welcoming atmosphere, the genuine happiness, the complete absence of ego despite being the consensus greatest grappler of all time. It all shapes why this matchup means so much to the Australian coming out of a three-year retirement.

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Lachlan Giles says idea to fight BJJ royalty Marcelo Garcia stemmed from a Reddit thread

In the same interview with the promotion, Lachlan Giles revealed that he first heard about the prospect of him going toe-to-toe with the fellow multi-time BJJ world champion via a thread on Reddit.

"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. It was something that had crossed my mind, and I was kind of like, 'Would I do it or wouldn't I?" the 39-year-old added.
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It didn't take too long for the Australian ground game expert to put pen to paper on the deal after ONE Championship Vice President of Grappling Tom DeBlass presented him with that dream super fight.

So, come fight night this Friday inside the Mecca of Muay Thai, fight fans can expect a technical clinic between two masters on the canvas.

ONE Fight Night 38: Andrade vs. Baatarkhuu will be available to active Amazon Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada, live in U.S. primetime, for free this Friday, December 5.

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Edited by Saiyed Adeem Karim
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