ONE Championship have just announced a crazy grappling match that nobody could have seen coming for ONE Fight Night 38, as Marcelo Garcia will be returning to face Lachlan Giles. The event is scheduled for December 5th, 2025 and although this match will get the attention of Jiu-Jitsu fans all around the world, it isn’t the only one booked so far. The promotion already announced another huge match for later on the card, as Diogo Reis will be facing Daiki Yonekura for the vacant flyweight title. Although that match will have the biggest impact on the ONE submission grappling divisions moving forward, Garcia and Giles will likely be the one that fans are most looking forward to.
That’s because it represents an incredibly rare opportunity to see either of these competitors in action, never mind up against each other for the very first time. Garcia in particular is one of the biggest legends of BJJ history and he left the competitive side of the sport behind immediately after winning ADCC 2011. He has made a dramatic comeback since then though, and ONE Championship actually started the year by giving the fans one more chance to see him. Garcia submitted fellow veteran Masakazu Imanari at ONE 170 and it was always going to be one of the biggest moments of the year.
Now ONE has decided to bookend 2025 with Garcia matches and this one is even more interesting than the first. Giles has also stepped away from the competitive side of the sport and although it was much more recent, it’s still been several years since fans last saw him action. Giles’ last matches were at ADCC 2022, where he competed in the same weight class that Garcia once dominated. Although he didn’t reach the same heights that Garcia did, Giles is just as popular in the BJJ world thanks to his equally impressive performances in absolute divisions and his incredible guard.
ONE Championship announced the news that Marcelo Garcia would face Lachlan Giles at ONE Fight Night 38 in a recent post to their official Instagram account:
