“My opponents are getting younger” - Lachlan Giles looks back on his last match against Kade Ruotolo in 2022

Australian grappling legend Lachlan Giles revealed the exact moment he decided to end his distinguished professional career.

‘Giant Killer’, who earned his legendary status in his inspiring run in the 2019 ADCC World Championship Absolute Division, returned against reigning ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion Kade Ruotolo in the same tournament in 2022.

Ruotolo defeated Giles and won ADCC gold in the 77kg division. For the 39-year-old Australian innovator, that humbling loss made him rethink about his future.

Giles shared in a vlog post posted on Absolute MMA St Kilda - Melbourne’s YouTube page:

“One of the reasons I retired really was, as you get older, it gets harder to do a proper training camp and so on while staying away from injuries. I'm getting older. My opponents are getting younger. I lost to Kade Ruotolo in 2022. That was my last competition. He was only 19 years old, and he, obviously, won ADCC."

He added:

“So I didn't feel like I had much chance of kind of outdoing anything I’ve done. My best performance obviously was in 2019. I got the bronze medal in the openweight division in ADCC. In my own weight division, whilst I had some success locally and success getting to ADCC, I never really got too far in my own weight division.”

Watch the full video:

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Lachlan Giles unretires at ONE Fight Night 38

While content with retirement, Lachlan Giles eventually made the decision to return to action against a fellow legend.

The Australian trailblazer couldn't say no to a dream superfight with BJJ GOAT Marcelo Garcia at ONE Fight Night 38 on Prime Video.

For the 39-year-old, this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity was simply too good to pass up.

"I've been happily retired, but I've been offered a match I can't refuse with Marcelo Garcia. He's one of my idols and, you know, the greatest of all time," he said on the same vlog post.

ONE Fight Night 38 airs live in U.S. primetime on Friday, December 5, exclusively on Prime Video for North American audiences.