Former UFC and Strikeforce Fighter Benji Radach Dead at 45
Former UFC and Strikeforce standout Benji Radach has died. He was 45.
Members of Radach’s family, including his stepmother and brother, reported the news of his passing on Facebook. No cause of death has been revealed.
The 24-fight veteran competed in some of the biggest organizations in mixed martial arts, including the IFL, EliteXC, Strikeforce, Bellator, and the UFC. After kickstarting his career with a perfect 12-0 record, including a 5-0 run as an amateur, ‘Razor’ made his Octagon debut at UFC 37 against Steve Berger.
Radach scored a 27-second KO, but the result was later overturned by the Louisiana State Athletic Commission after it was determined that he was holding onto the cage prior to the finish.
Radach bounced back with a win against Matt Serra’s younger brother Nick Serra before suffering a first-round TKO loss against Sean Sherk and departing the promotion shortly after.
Benji Radach fought six times in a single year and faced UFC title challenger ‘OSP’
Radach famously fought six times in a calendar year under the IFL banner, going 5-1 in the process with noteworthy wins over Brian Foster, Gerald Harris, and Bristol Marunde.
‘Razor’ also fought in EliteXC, earning a win over Murilo Rua—the older brother of UFC Hall of Famer Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua—before heading to Strikeforce where he scrapped with former UFC title challenger Ovince St. Preux and Scott Smith.
Radach closed out his career at Bellator 137 in 2015 against Ben Reiter. Overall, he went 16-7 with 12 knockouts and 2 wins via submission.
