Australian BJJ legend Lachlan Giles recently sat down with Tom, VP of Grappling at ONE FC, to discuss his upcoming match against the iconic Marcelo Garcia.
When asked about the stylistic matchup, Giles was candid about his preferences:
“I’d much rather fi ght someone coming forward, for sure. But of course, that gives, you know, it gives me—hopefully—gives me opportunities. Obviously, it gives him opportunities as well, so that’s kind of why it should be an interesting match, I think.”
Giles acknowledged that Marcelo’s aggressive style could work in his favor:
“I think, kind of, any—no matter what sort of guard, or even if you’re wrestling or whatever—if someone’s just, like, staying low and trying not to engage, that’s hard to do anything against, no matter what style you do.”
Regarding his decision to come out of retirement, Giles admitted:
“I probably, to be honest, was quite happily retired. But I had sort of thought, like, I think I’d seen, like, a thread on Reddit or something where people were discussing who Marcelo should f ight, and my name got dropped a few times.”
When Tom reached out, his response was immediate:
“As soon as you asked me, I was like, yeah, I really should take this. Like, I mean, that’s a dream match, right?”
On his game plan, Giles shared:
“If I can, I’d like to, you know, pull guard, go for the legs. But I do want to, you know, like, if I get a chance to come on top, I want to show, because, you know, I guess that’s just, like, a thing that kind of bugs you. Like, oh, they only pull guard, and people don’t realize that these people have a full, rounded grappling game.”
Giles also noted the challenge Marcelo presents:
“The way he plays his game, like, even from guard, he’s not an easy person to isolate a leg on. He’s always pummeling the feet inside. So yeah, I think that’s one of the reasons people are intrigued for the matchup.”
The Australian confirmed this would be his final competitive appearance, stating simply:
“I think this is it for me. Yeah, this is my last match.”
Marcelo Garcia faces Lachlan Giles at ONE FN 38 on Friday, December 5, live in U.S. primetime, from Bangkok, Thailand.
