Joe Rogan and Eddie Bravo have been friends for a long time, with one of the things in common between them being the love for Jiu-Jitsu… And Rogan has been a long-time fan of Bravo’s BJJ skills – all the way since 2003.

He was in Brazil that year, watching the Abu Dhabi World Championships, while Bravo was competing there. And, as Rogan emphasized on his podcast, that event changed everything:

Eddie Bravo was over there competing. That was the year he tapped out Royler Gracie. It was the craziest upset ever. It was insane.
He wasn’t even a black belt yet. Eddie was a brown belt.

Royler, who was Royce’s brother, who was more successful even than Royce in Jiu-Jitsu tournaments. He’s one of the greatest Gracies of all time in terms of his accomplishments in winning world Jiu-Jitsu tournaments. He was the man.
[Eddie got him with a] Triangle off his back. It was amazing.

Royler didn’t know that Eddie had supreme guard skills, and that cost him the win:

[Eddie] has crazy flexibility and leg dexterity. It’s very surprising. So, if you’re in his guard, you’re fuc*ed, and Royler didn’t know it.

He was in Eddie’s guard and Eddie just slapped that Triangle on him and then started pulling the head. And Royler tapped and it was insane.
I was crying. Dude. I’ll cry right now. Woo.

As he wipes his tears away, Rogan explains why he gets overwhelmed by Bravo’s win:

It changed his life. He was always like this super talented guy. And he didn’t kind of want to believe it for some strange reason. He was very humble about his Jiu-Jitsu. He knew he was pretty good, and then he started winning tournaments.
He won the Abu Dhabis and the West Coast trials, so he made it to Brazil.

It was one of the craziest things I’ve ever seen in my life because for him to go there – he was such an underdog.