Lachlan Giles faces one of the creators of modern Brazilian jiu-jitsu's foundation, but that might actually work in the Australian's favor.
The 39-year-old submission grappling icon meets Marcelo Garcia in their lightweight submission grappling showcase at ONE Fight Night 38 on Friday, Dec. 5, inside Bangkok's legendary Lumpinee Stadium.
During his appearance on The FloGrappling Show, Giles explored a fascinating tactical question—does Garcia's own revolutionary impact on the sport create advantages for opponents who've spent their entire careers defending techniques he pioneered?
"Obviously, it's become ingrained in the game, and all those positions Marcelo plays form the backbone of what everyone's doing now in the modern game. There's an interesting dynamic—his style has become so pervasive," Lachlan Giles shared.
Get the latest updates on One Championship Rankings at Sportskeeda and more
"Does that help me in being exposed to dealing with people playing those grip fights, butterfly guards, and shoulder crunches? These things are so common now. Do I have an advantage in that I've been exposed to those things so much, whereas perhaps someone back in the day competing against Marcelo might not have been?"
Watch his full interview on The FloGrappling Show here:
That's elite-level strategic thinking, analyzing how Garcia's own influence might create unexpected tactical dynamics.
The 42-year-old Brazilian legend revolutionized submission grappling through butterfly guard mastery, grip fighting excellence, and technical innovations that became so effective that everyone started copying them.
Those questions, however, will be answered definitively when these two BJJ black belts collide on Friday night inside the Mecca of Muay Thai.
Either Garcia's mastery overcomes modern defensive sophistication, and unfamiliarity with leg attacks, or Giles' accumulated experience defending Garcia-style techniques plus his own innovations prove sufficient against arguably the greatest ground game wizard of all time.
Lachlan Giles breaks down his route to victory vs. Marcelo Garcia
Beating someone like multi-time BJJ world champion Marcelo Garcia will be no easy task. Lachlan Giles knows that, but the Australian ground game wizard sees one way where he could ideally force a tap from the fellow icon of the sport.
In a separate interview with ONE Championship ahead of their all-legend matchup, the 39-year-old broke down his plan on how he'll submit 'Marcelinho' in Bangkok, Thailand.
"I'll try to find a way to get to his legs and get a finish from that. If not, I'll try to come on top, look to pass, go for the back, and look to choke from the back. That's the plan," he shared.
Can Lachlan Giles walk the talk and produce one of the most memorable submission grappling wins of the year, or will Garcia continue his campaign under the ONE spotlight with another massive win?
ONE Fight Night 38: Andrade vs. Baatarkhuu will be available live in U.S. primetime for free to active Amazon Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.