Who was Benji Radach? UFC and Strikeforce veteran passes away at 45

Benji Radach has tragically passed away at the age of 45 years old. While the former UFC and Strikeforce veteran's cause of death has not been reported, his family members confirmed the news on Facebook.

Damon Martin of MMA Fighting was the first to share the news as he took to X on Monday, tweeting:

"Just learned that UFC and Strikeforce veteran Benji Radach has passed away. Benji was always such a great dude, talked to him many times. Just went back through our last text exchange talking about his wild year in IFL where he fought 6 times in one year. Gone way too soon"

Check out Damon Martin's tweet on the passing of Benji Radach below:

Radach made his professional mixed martial arts debut in the United Full Contact Federation back in March 2001. His career lasted through May 2015 when he retired with a 21-7 (1) record after suffering his third consecutive loss. He had 17 victories via knockout, one victory via submission, and three victories via decision. While he was never submitted, he suffered five losses via knockout and two losses via decision.

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Who was former mixed martial artist Benji Radach?

Benji Radach began his mixed martial arts career with an undefeated 10-0 record, finishing eight of those opponents via knockout. His impressive run on the regional scene landed him a UFC contract, with his debut coming at UFC 37 in May 2002. While he originally won the bout via first-round TKO, it was later overturned to a no-contest by the Louisiana Athletic Commission due to a fence grab.

Radach split his next two bouts in the promotion before returning to the regional scene with four straight knockout wins to improve to 15-1 (1). Radach suffered one of the biggest upset losses in mixed martial arts history in his next bout. He allegedly challenged Danny Lafever to a bout over his ex-girlfriend and went on to lose via first-round knockout. His opponent, who was making his mixed martial arts debut, retired immediately after the clash.

Radach suffered a third-round TKO loss to Chris Leben in his next bout due to a broken jaw and subsequently spent three years away from the sport. He returned with five straight finishes in the IFL before suffering a knockout loss to Matt Horwich while challenging for the middleweight title.

Radach picked up the final win of his career when he defeated Murilo Rua via second-round TKO at EliteXC: Heat in October 2008. Radach suffered two consecutive losses at Strikeforce - the latter of which came against Ovince St. Preux - before taking a nearly five-year hiatus. He returned to face Ben Reiter at Bellator 137, losing via unanimous decision in the final bout of his career.