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Hillary Williams

“Killary”

Hillary Williams reached the 2009 ADCC podium and won at the 2010 Worlds before earning an M.D. and becoming a movement-disorders specialist.

Last updated: 12 September 2026

Biography

Hillary Williams reached the ADCC podium and won a world title within roughly four years of beginning Brazilian jiu-jitsu. In a 2009 interview, the Arkansas athlete said that she came to the sport after years of softball, golf, and volleyball. A friend’s physical transformation first caught her attention; the steady supply of new problems to solve made her stay. Williams began training at Westside MMA under Matt Hamilton and Rolando “Roli” Delgado. She later traveled within the United States and to Brazil in search of strong training rooms. At the 2009 ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship, she submitted Megumi Fujii on the opening day and went on to place third in the women’s under-60-kilogram division. In June 2010, Williams won the combined women’s brown-and-black middleweight division at the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship, defeating Carolina DeLazzer by decision in the final. Westside instructors Delgado and Hamilton promoted her to black belt after the title. Graciemag reported that she had spent seven months and fourteen days at brown belt. The rapid competitive rise did not become a long pursuit of medals. By August 2011, as her medical studies intensified, Williams had stepped away from medal-focused competition while continuing to train during the week. She described jiu-jitsu at that point as a way to improve as a student, teacher, and person. The medical studies became a second career. In 2015, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences identified Williams both as the 2010 jiu-jitsu world champion and as a future neurology resident at UAMS. She went on to earn her medical degree and complete that residency, followed by a movement-disorders fellowship at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. In 2021, she returned to UAMS as an assistant professor in its neurology department.

Sources for this profile

BJJ Heroes, “Hillary Williams”(opens in a new tab)
- Hillary Williams is an American grappler born on 14 October 1988 in Arkansas, United States.
  Where in the source: Profile introduction and Biography — American; birth date and Arkansas
  Accessed: 2026-09-12
- Williams began training at Westside MMA under Matt Hamilton and Rolando ‘Roli’ Delgado, then travelled within the United States and to Brazil in search of strong training rooms.
  Where in the source: Biography — Westside start, Hamilton and Delgado, later training travel
  Accessed: 2026-09-12
- BJJ Heroes records ‘Killary’ as Williams’s best-known competition nickname, alongside ‘Paraíba,’ a name associated with her Arkansas roots.
  Where in the source: Nickname field — Killary and Paraíba
  Accessed: 2026-09-12
Bleacher Report, “Conquering a Brave New World: The Hillary Williams Story,” 2009(opens in a new tab)
- Williams said that she had spent years in softball, golf and volleyball before a friend’s physical transformation led her to Brazilian jiu-jitsu; she stayed because the sport kept presenting new problems to solve.
  Where in the source: Personal interview — Arkansas background, earlier sports and reason for starting
  Accessed: 2026-09-12
ADCC, “ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship 2009”(opens in a new tab)
- At the 2009 ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship, Williams placed third in the women’s under-60-kilogram division, behind Luanna Alzuguir and Sayaka Shioda and ahead of Laurence Cousin.
  Where in the source: Results table — Female -60 kg, places 1–4
  Accessed: 2026-09-12
ADCC, “ADCC 2009 Live Results,” 26 September 2009(opens in a new tab)
- On the opening day of the 2009 ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship, Williams submitted Megumi Fujii.
  Where in the source: Live results — opening-day fight list, Williams versus Fujii
  Accessed: 2026-09-12
MixedMartialArts.com, “Hillary Williams: Best non-Brazilian at the BJJ Worlds,” 2010(opens in a new tab)
- In June 2010, after about four years of training, Williams won the women’s middleweight division at the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship, taking the final against Carolina DeLazzer by decision.
  Where in the source: TATAME interview reproduction — middleweight title, final and four-year timeline
  Accessed: 2026-09-12
Graciemag, “Hillary comments on black belt,” 30 June 2010(opens in a new tab)
- After the 2010 world title, Westside MMA instructors Roli Delgado and Matt Hamilton promoted Williams to black belt; Graciemag reported that she had spent seven months and fourteen days at brown belt.
  Where in the source: Opening report — world-title context, promotion and instructors
  Accessed: 2026-09-12
Graciemag, “Hillary Williams swaps competitions for cadavers,” 30 August 2011(opens in a new tab)
- By August 2011, Williams had stepped away from medal-focused competition as her medical studies intensified, while continuing to train during the week and framing jiu-jitsu as a way to improve as a student, teacher and person.
  Where in the source: 2011 report — medical studies, competition pause and continued training
  Accessed: 2026-09-12
UAMS News, “Hillary Williams, M.D., Movement Disorders Specialist, Joins UAMS Neurology Department,” 2021(opens in a new tab)
- Williams later earned her medical degree and completed a neurology residency at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, followed by a movement-disorders fellowship at the University of Alabama at Birmingham; she returned to UAMS as an assistant professor in 2021.
  Where in the source: UAMS appointment release — education, residency, fellowship and faculty role
  Accessed: 2026-09-12
UAMS News, “Match Day Guides UAMS College of Medicine Students to Next Career Path,” 20 March 2015(opens in a new tab)
- In its 2015 Match Day report, UAMS explicitly identified Hillary Williams as both a future UAMS neurology resident and the winner of the 2010 IBJJF women’s brown/black middleweight world championship, directly linking the physician to the grappler.
  Where in the source: Match Day report — consecutive paragraphs about Hillary Williams, neurology and her world title
  Accessed: 2026-09-12

Competition results

Recorded tournament results, newest first
Year	Event	Result	Division
2010	IBJJF World ChampionshipSource: en.wikipedia.org-69 kgGiVerified	1st place	-69 kgGiVerified
2009	ADCC 2009Source: adcombat.com-60 kgNo-giVerified	3rd place	-60 kgNo-giVerified

Lineage

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Open lineage