Joe Rogan recently had the chance to host UFC’s new light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill. Hill was on hand to celebrate his surprise title win that happened at UFC 283 in Rio de Janeiro.
Rogan and Hill covered a variety of topics on the podcast including how the Gracie family actually played a part in Hill starting on his martial arts journey.
UFC commentator started off paying homage to the Gracie family saying:
“The UFC and jiu jitsu. It’s all from there. I mean, without Brazil, the UFC would not be what it is. I mean, who knows if it would have ever even happened. Or if it happened way, way later? And if it wasn’t for Rorion Gracie, it wasn’t for the Gracie family and wasn’t (for) Brazilian jiu jitsu. We wouldn’t be here.”
“Crazy that one family can have such an impact on the martial arts world.”
Jamahal Hill agreed and elaborated that the Gracie family influence persists to date – he’s even cornered by a Gracie.
“Hey, that had an impact on me. Kroyler Gracie, the guy, in my corner. That’s Royce Gracie’s nephew. ”
Royce Gracie famously won UFC 1 and went on to win UFC 2 and 4. To date, he holds a number of UFC records.
Kroyler was born in Brazil and grew up training Jiu-Jitsu at the family ranch with his grandfather Helio Gracie, one of the founders of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. In his teens, he moved to Elkhart, Indiana and in 2019 he became a U.S. citizen. He currently lives in Elkhart with his wife Taylor, and their three canine companions (Sun, Matryoshka, and Atama) as per his website.
Hill went on to share he’s been watching UFC since he was 18 or 19. The first bout he ever saw was the one between Anderson Silva and Forrest Griffin. Silva defeated Griffin by KO/TKO in R3 at their main event in August of 2009.
