Creator credit recorded on the linked source page: WilliamBKH · Public domain
Marcelo Garcia
“Marcelinho”
Source: onefc.comMarcelo Garcia is a Brazilian black belt with five adult gi World middleweight titles, four ADCC division golds and a New York academy.
Biography
Sources for this profile
International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation, “Brasileiro History: Revisiting Marcelo Garcia’s Run To Double Gold In 2006,” accessed September 13, 2026.(opens in a new tab)
IBJJF reported that Marcelo Garcia was promoted to black belt by Fabio Gurgel in 2002, won the 2004 Brasileiro, and that his New York academy was founded in 2009.
Where in the source: IBJJF retrospective, opening two paragraphs.
Accessed:
IBJJF's 2023 retrospective recounts Garcia beating Galvão on points for 2006 Brasileiro middleweight gold and Maia by a two-point takedown counter in the open final.
Where in the source: 2006 Brasileiro middleweight and open-class bout paragraphs.
Accessed:
IBJJF credits Garcia's butterfly guard and back-taking with influencing a generation of competitors.
Where in the source: IBJJF retrospective, opening paragraph on technical influence.
Accessed:
Marcelo Garcia Jiu-Jitsu, “Marcelo Garcia,” accessed September 13, 2026.(opens in a new tab)
Marcelo Garcia Jiu-Jitsu lists Marcelo Garcia as a five-time IBJJF black-belt World Champion, with gold medals in 2004, 2006, 2009, 2010 and 2011 in the 82 kg division.
Where in the source: Marcelo Garcia Jiu-Jitsu profile; “World Championships” section, heading “5x IBJJF Black Belt World Champion” and the 2011, 2010, 2009, 2006 and 2004 gold rows.
Accessed:
Marcelo Garcia Jiu-Jitsu lists four ADCC World Championship gold medals for Garcia: 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2011, each in the 77 kg division.
Where in the source: Marcelo Garcia Jiu-Jitsu profile; “ADCC” section, heading “4x ADCC World Champion” and the four gold rows for 2011, 2007, 2005 and 2003.
Accessed:
Marcelo Garcia Jiu-Jitsu says Garcia has authored and taught through instructional videos and books, and that he launched MGinAction as a virtual academy and grappling database.
Where in the source: Marcelo Garcia Jiu-Jitsu profile; introductory paragraph after the achievement summary, sentence beginning “He is an author and teacher”.
Accessed:
ADCC, “ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship 2003,” official results archive.(opens in a new tab)
ADCC’s official 2003 results list Marcelo Garcia first and gold medalist in the -77 kg division.
Where in the source: “ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship 2003”; “OFFICIAL RESULTS” table, -77kg row naming Marcelo Garcia as Gold / 1st.
Accessed:
International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation, “World Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2004,” results archive.(opens in a new tab)
IBJJF’s 2004 World Championship results list Marcelo Garcia of Alliance first in Adult Black Belt Male Middle and third in Adult Black Belt Male Open Class.
Where in the source: “World Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2004”; Adult / Black / Male / Middle table, first row, and Adult / Black / Male / Open Class table, fourth result row.
Accessed:
International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation, “World Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2006,” results archive.(opens in a new tab)
IBJJF’s 2006 World Championship results list Marcelo Garcia of Alliance first in Adult Black Belt Male Middle and third in Adult Black Belt Male Open Class.
Where in the source: “World Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2006”; Adult / Black / Male / Middle table, first row, and Adult / Black / Male / Open Class table, fourth result row.
Accessed:
International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation, “World Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2009,” results archive.(opens in a new tab)
IBJJF’s 2009 World Championship results list Marcelo Garcia of Alliance first in Adult Black Belt Male Middle.
Where in the source: “World Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2009”; Adult / Black / Male / Middle table, first row.
Accessed:
International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation, “World Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2010,” results archive.(opens in a new tab)
IBJJF’s 2010 World Championship results list Marcelo Garcia of Alliance first in Adult Black Belt Male Middle.
Where in the source: “World Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2010”; Adult / Black / Male / Middle table, first row.
Accessed:
International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation, “World Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2011,” results archive.(opens in a new tab)
IBJJF’s 2011 World Championship results list Marcelo Garcia of Alliance first in Adult Black Belt Male Middle.
Where in the source: “World Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2011”; Adult / Black / Male / Middle table, first row.
Accessed:
International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation, “Hall of fame,” accessed September 13, 2026.(opens in a new tab)
IBJJF’s current Hall of Fame roster lists Marcelo Garcia Vespúcio.
Where in the source: Hall of fame roster entry “MARCELO GARCIA VESPÚCIO”.
Accessed:
IBJJF, Campeonato Brasileiro de Jiu-Jitsu 2006, official results.(opens in a new tab)
At the 2006 Brasileiro, Garcia won adult black-belt middleweight and open class; André Galvão and Demian Maia placed second in those divisions respectively.
Where in the source: ADULT / BLACK / MALE / MIDDLE and ADULT / BLACK / MALE / OPEN CLASS; complete podium blocks, with neighboring divisions visible.
Accessed:
Benjamin Kohn, The Fight Site, The All-Time Great: Marcelo Garcia, May 28, 2020.(opens in a new tab)
Benjamin Kohn's match study describes Garcia entering ADCC 2003 as a late replacement and analyzes arm drags, X-guard and back control against Kunioku, Renzo Gracie, Vitor Ribeiro and Otto Olson.
Where in the source: The All-Time Great: Marcelo Garcia; introduction and sections Arm-drag, X-Guard, Back Control.
Accessed:
BJJ Fanatics, 2 on 1 Control No Gi by Marcelo Garcia, course contents, accessed October 4, 2026.(opens in a new tab)
Garcia's no-gi 2-on-1 course connects the grip to butterfly and X-guard sweeps, guillotines and back takes.
Where in the source: 2 on 1 Control No Gi by Marcelo Garcia; Course Content, Volume 3 and Volume 4 chapter titles.
Accessed:
Ben Coate, ONE Championship, interview with Marcelo Garcia, November 15, 2024.(opens in a new tab)
Garcia said in 2024 that he stepped back from competition to focus on his New York gym and teaching his students daily; he rejected the description of formal retirement.
Where in the source: I’ll Give Everything I Have; paragraph beginning “According to the Brazilian icon” and Garcia’s first-person answer beginning “I don’t know if people realize it”.
Accessed:
Marcelo Garcia Jiu-Jitsu, MGJJ Black Belts, accessed October 4, 2026.(opens in a new tab)
Garcia's academy records his black-belt promotions of Gianni Grippo in 2014 and Dominyka Obelenytė, Jonathan Satava and Matheus Diniz in 2015.
Where in the source: Marcelo Garcia Black Belts; table columns Name, Date, Instructor; entries #4, #7, #9 and #10.
Accessed:
Jon Medina, IBJJF, Gym Tours: Marcelo Garcia Academy NYC Feat. Matheus Diniz, May 29, 2023.(opens in a new tab)
In a 2023 tour of Marcelo Garcia Academy NYC, IBJJF identified Matheus Diniz as the gym's head professor.
Where in the source: Gym Tours: Marcelo Garcia Academy NYC Feat. Matheus Diniz; sentence beginning “Head professor Matheus Diniz”.
Accessed:
Marcelo Garcia Jiu-Jitsu NYC, Advanced Classes, accessed October 4, 2026.(opens in a new tab)
The New York academy describes its advanced instruction as drilling, situational attacks and transitions, and live sparring.
Where in the source: Advanced Class; Level 1 and Level 2 descriptions.
Accessed:
Marcelo Garcia Jiu-Jitsu, MGINACTION overview, accessed October 4, 2026.(opens in a new tab)
Garcia's academy presents MGinAction as an online collection of his lessons and sparring footage.
Where in the source: MGINACTION section; “Lessons, Sparring, Collections”.
Accessed:
Dan Levine, ONE Championship, ONE 170 Results, January 25, 2025.(opens in a new tab)
At ONE 170 on January 24, 2025, Garcia submitted Masakazu Imanari in an openweight submission-grappling bout with a north-south choke at 4:49.
Where in the source: ONE 170 Results; section Garcia Debuts In Style, Taps Imanari Via North-South Choke.
Accessed:
ONE refers to Marcelo Garcia as Marcelinho.
Where in the source: Garcia Debuts In Style; first sentence names Marcelo “Marcelinho” Garcia.
Accessed:
ONE identifies Garcia as Brazilian.
Where in the source: Garcia Debuts In Style; closing sentence refers to “the Brazilian”.
Accessed:
ONE Championship, 5 Biggest Takeaways From ONE Fight Night 38, December 2025.(opens in a new tab)
Lachlan Giles submitted Garcia by kneebar at 7:03 in their lightweight submission-grappling match at ONE Fight Night 38 on December 5, 2025.
Where in the source: 5 Biggest Takeaways From ONE Fight Night 38; #4 BJJ Royalty Delivered As Promised.
Accessed:
Marcelo Garcia Jiu-Jitsu, Marcelo Garcia, accessed October 4, 2026.(opens in a new tab)
Garcia's current academy profile lists 2007 ADCC absolute silver, 2009 ADCC 77 kg silver and 2011 ADCC 77 kg gold.
Where in the source: Marcelo Garcia; ADCC results section with 2007 Absolute, 2009 77KG and 2011 77 kg entries.
Accessed:
Garcia's own current profile identifies his World Championship victories as black-belt results.
Where in the source: Marcelo Garcia; 5 x IBJJF World Champion, five first-place entries marked Black Belt Division.
Accessed:
Marcelo Garcia Jiu-Jitsu, Hawaii Schedule, accessed October 4, 2026.(opens in a new tab)
Garcia's academy now lists a Kailua, Hawaii location alongside its New York program.
Where in the source: Marcelo Garcia Jiu-Jitsu Hawaii Schedule; Contact location Kailua; site navigation links to NYC and Hawaii.
Accessed:
BJJ Rants, interview with Matheus Diniz, April 12, 2014.(opens in a new tab)
Matheus Diniz said Garcia invited him to train at his New York academy, where Diniz adopted Garcia's forward-moving, submission-seeking approach.
Where in the source: Taking A Look Into The Brown Belt Dream Team of Marcelo Garcia Part 3; Diniz answers to “How did you find Marcelo’s school?” and “What are your thoughts on the evolution”.
Accessed:
ONE Championship, Marcelo Garcia athlete profile, accessed October 4, 2026.(opens in a new tab)
ONE's athlete profile places Garcia's upbringing in Minas Gerais and says he practiced karate and judo before BJJ.
Where in the source: About Marcelo Garcia; paragraph beginning “Born and raised in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais”.
Accessed:
Competition results
| Year | Event | Result | Division |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | ADCC 2011Source: adcombat.com-77 kgNo-giVerified | 1st place | -77 kgNo-giVerified |
| 2011 | IBJJF World ChampionshipSource: en.wikipedia.org-82 kgGiVerified | 1st place | -82 kgGiVerified |
| 2010 | IBJJF World ChampionshipSource: en.wikipedia.org-82 kgGiVerified | 1st place | -82 kgGiVerified |
| 2009 | ADCC 2009Source: adcombat.com-77 kgNo-giVerified | 2nd place | -77 kgNo-giVerified |
| 2009 | IBJJF World ChampionshipSource: en.wikipedia.org-82 kgGiVerified | 1st place | -82 kgGiVerified |
| 2007 | ADCC 2007Source: adcombat.comAbsoluteNo-giVerified | 2nd place | AbsoluteNo-giVerified |
| 2007 | ADCC 2007Source: adcombat.com-77 kgNo-giVerified | 1st place | -77 kgNo-giVerified |
| 2006 | IBJJF World ChampionshipSource: en.wikipedia.org-82 kgGiVerified | 1st place | -82 kgGiVerified |
| 2005 | ADCC 2005Source: adcombat.comAbsoluteNo-giVerified | 3rd place | AbsoluteNo-giVerified |
| 2005 | ADCC 2005Source: adcombat.com-77 kgNo-giVerified | 1st place | -77 kgNo-giVerified |
| 2004 | IBJJF World ChampionshipSource: en.wikipedia.org-82 kgGiVerified | 1st place | -82 kgGiVerified |
| 2003 | ADCC 2003Source: adcombat.com-77 kgNo-giVerified | 1st place | -77 kgNo-giVerified |