Some opportunities transcend retirement plans, and Lachlan Giles found his when the phone rang with an offer he couldn’t refuse. The 39-year-old Australian submission grappling icon announced his return to competition after three years away from the mats, but the comeback carries a singular purpose facing Brazilian jiu-jitsu royalty Marcelo Garcia. Their explosive lightweight submission grappling showcase will be part of ONE Fight Night 38, which takes place live in American primetime on Friday, Dec. 5, inside Bangkok’s legendary Lumpinee Stadium. “I’ve been happily retired, but I’ve been offered a match I can’t refuse with Marcelo Garcia. He’s one of my idols and, you know, the greatest of all time,” Lachlan Giles shared during his interview with Absolute MMA ST Kilda Melbourne. “And I get a chance to compete against someone in my weight division as well. So yeah, I couldn’t refuse that one. Probably there’d be no other match I would take except this one. Yet, when ONE Championship approached him about facing Garcia, the decision to step back on the mats for a fight became inevitable. Watch Lachlan Giles’ full interview on Absolute MMA St Kilda here: Lachlan Giles vs. Marcelo Garcia is just one of many exciting fights at ONE Fight Night 38 ONE Championship returns to the iconic Lumpinee Stadium with a card filled with plenty of exciting talents on top of the hotly anticipated submission grappling war between Lachlan Giles and Marcelo Garcia. Before defending king Fabricio Andrade and challenger Enkh-Orgil Baatarkhuu trade leather in a ONE bantamweight MMA world title matchup, ground game specialists Diogo Reis and Daiki Yonekura lock horns for the vacant ONE Flyweight Submission Grappling World Title. Also on the card, Thai knockout specialists Shadow Singa Mawynn and Nontachai face Mohamed Younes Rabah and Shinji Suzuki, respectively. Malaysian-Thai slugger Aliff Sor Dechapan, meanwhile, looks to close in on ONE strawweight Muay Thai world champion Prajanchai PK Saenchai. The young gun faces Lebanese firecracker Ramadan Ondash. Check out the full card on ONE’s official website. North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription can catch all the action from ONE Fight Night 38: Andrade vs. Baatarkhuu, live in U. S. primetime on Friday, Dec. 5, for free.
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