Marcelo Garcia and Renzo Gracie are both legendary professional grapplers and although they were part of different generations, they actually shared the mats with one another back at ADCC 2003. Renzo Gracie was active in the very earliest days of both BJJ and MMA in the 1990s, establishing himself as a dominant competitor and a great representative of the Gracie family. He continued competing in both frequently into the early 2000s, while Marcelo Garcia only received his BJJ black belt in 2003 and his most active period as a competitor was in the 8 years that followed that. Nonetheless, they were able to cross paths at a key moment in time when Gracie was at the very peak of his BJJ success and Garcia was just about to begin his own legacy.
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Marcelo Garcia vs Renzo Gracie – ADCC 2003
Renzo Gracie competed in the very first ADCC world championship back in 1998 and won the 77kg division in pretty convincing fashion, back when Marcelo Garcia was just 15 years old and had only recently begun training. Gracie returned in 1999 to try his hand at the 88kg division and was unsuccessful, although 2000 saw him return to 77kg and a second title to his name. He made another unsuccessful attempt at the 88kg title in 2001 and when it was announced that he would return to 77kg once more in 2003, he was a heavy favorite to take home a third ADCC world championship.
Marcelo Garcia had a much different journey to ADCC 2003 and unlike Renzo Gracie, he did not have high expectations on his shoulders. He was just a brown belt who had barely trained in no gi at this point, and he decided to compete in the ADCC Trials earlier that year. He made it to the final before losing due to a single penalty for pulling guard, so he didn’t receive an invite to the tournament. Luckily for Garcia and fans around the world, Denis Hallman had to withdraw and he was asked to replace him on short notice. Garcia then submitted Kiuma Kunioka and Gracie beat George Sotiropoulos on points in their respective opening round matches to book a place opposite one another.
The Match
The match between Marcelo Garcia and Renzo Gracie was action-packed and both men kept up a high pace throughout it. Although Gracie was the obvious favorite going into the match, all the trademark elements of the legend that Garcia would become were already there. He used his arm drag to set up attacks both on the feet and on the ground, along with showing the fantastic X-guard game that served him well throughout his career. Although he appeared to have the edge over Gracie when he was on the bottom, he was even able to pass Gracie’s guard and spend some of the earlier parts of the match in side control as well.
While that alone was enough to shock the fans who were expecting Renzo Gracie to steamroll Marcelo Garcia on his way to another ADCC title, it was later that Garcia really showed his skill level. Gracie turned to turtle a few minutes into the match and he gave up his back in the process, turning the tide of the match firmly in Garcia’s favor. Garcia spent several minutes controlling Gracie from the back and threatening him with the choke before he was finally able to stand up and shake him off. It was too little, too late though; as Garcia had racked up 9 points already and Gracie was unable to score at all before the time ran out.
The Aftermath
Marcelo Garcia had done the unthinkable and beaten two-time ADCC world champion Renzo Gracie in convincing fashion, but he wasn’t ready to stop just yet. He went on to have one of most incredible debut appearances at a major tournament that anyone has ever had, and not many competitors have ever even come close. Garcia was up against another incredible grappler in the second round, Vitor ‘Shaolin’ Ribeiro, and he ended up taking his back and submitting him with a rear-naked choke. He was just as impressive in the final match against Otto Olsen too, as he locked up his third choke of the tournament to take home his first title.
Although this was just the start of the Marcelo Garcia legacy, Renzo Gracie had already secured his long before this tournament. That’s why Gracie was actually a member of the inaugural class of the ADCC Hall of Fame back in 2022, over two decades after he first competed for the promotion. He wasn’t alone though actually, as Garcia went on to win three more ADCC titles over the years that followed and he also earned a place in the inaugural class of the ADCC Hall of Fame as well. The two men shared the arena at the world’s most prestigious no gi grappling tournament just one more time, when they were both inducted live at ADCC 2022.
The full footage of Marcelo Garcia vs Renzo Gracie from ADCC 2003 was uploaded to the official YouTube channel of Rick Fight:
