I’m a UFC star and my grandparents were ‘abducted by aliens’ – a spaceship dropped down and pulled them out of the car
FROM a UFO to the UFC, fighter Angela Hill is not the first famous member of her family.
The 38-year-old defeated Denise Gomes in the octagon last night as she extended her unbeaten career to 29 bouts.
But outside of the UFC, Hill has an interest in the extra-terrestrial.
And her passion stems from her grandparents’ place in UFO legend.
Barney and Betty were everyday people, travelling back from a holiday at Niagara Falls in 1961 when their life was turned upside down.
En route to their house in New Hampshire, they claim they were abducted by aliens.
They couple failed to remember three hours of their journey back after seeing an usual looking spacecraft flying above them.
From what they could recall under hypnosis, both say something came out of the sky, pulled the duo out of the car and did experiments on them before they were released.
Hill embraces her family history, telling BBC Sport: “It has always been a fact to us.
“We know something happened, even if it isn’t exactly what has been put out there.”
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Hill also told the Hard Times podcast: “They got abducted and they didn’t remember what had happened, but they started having similar nightmares.
“They got Men in Black-ed.
“I went to Philly where all my dad’s family is and talked to all the close relatives about my grandfather.
“They kind of recall when it happened, they all believe it.”
After Barney and Betty told the press about their ordeal, it went on to become one of the most famous abduction stories in US history.
The tale was adapted into a best-selling book in 1966 called ‘The Interrupted Journey’ and was then turned into a TV film in 1975 named ‘The UFO Incident’.
Barney was played by James Earl Jones in the movie, who later starred in the Lion King and voiced Star Wars character Darth Vader.
Meanwhile, Bonnie and Clyde actress Estelle Parsons was Betty.
Hill is proud of her grandparents’ unusual fame, saying: “It’s kind of a cool thing to be able to see on TV and relate to.
“I think a lot of us are looking for answers out in the stars.
“I definitely think there is life out there. To count out that aliens can possibly exist is ridiculous.
“There is just so little that we know still and I think whenever something comes out like that it’s a blow to humankind’s ego.
“Whether or not we’ve been in contact with that life is something up for debate but, if anything, there’s a lot going on on this planet that we don’t understand either.
“People are having these moments where they all see the same thing – there has to be some reality to it.”
Barney passed away in 1969 and Betty died in 2004.
Due to her granddad’s early death at the age of 46, he did not become as famous as his wife did in the extra-terrestrial scene.
Betty appeared in documentaries and featured at conventions.
She is not a blood relative of the UFC star and Hill revealed none of her family have been contacted about a new Netflix film being made about the incident.
Hill explained: “Historically, my family wasn’t really involved in the whole aftermath.
“After my grandfather died, his family just kind of got left out.
“My grandmother [Barney’s first wife] hated everything about the story, she would say ‘he’s a liar’ and ‘him and that woman’.”