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A former UFC champion weighed in on the promotion's treatment of Francis Ngannou. Elsewhere, Arman Tsarukyan told the Russian media about his potential upcoming fight with Islam Makhachev.
Sportskeeda MMA is back with today's News Roundup and the top combat sports updates.
UFC and Strikeforce veteran Benji Radach passes away
Reports of Benji Radach's death were first posted by his stepmother and brother, among other family members and close friends, on Facebook.
Get the latest updates on One Championship Rankings at Sportskeeda and more
ufc-strikeforce-veteran-benji-radach-dies-at-45" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-is-sponsored="false">MMA Fighting later confirmed the news on Monday. No cause of death has been revealed at the time of this writing.
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Radach signed with the UFC in 2002 with a perfect 10-0 record. His first win in the promotion was over Matt Serra's brother Nick. He later competed in promotions like IFL, Elite XC, Strikeforce, and Bellator. Radach famously tackled a gunman at a restaurant in 2004 and successfully stopped a potential robbery.
Randy Couture "not surprised" with how Francis Ngannou is being treated
The silent removal of Francis Ngannou's legacy from the UFC after his controversial exit and foray into boxing has not gone unnoticed. Israel Adesanya called the promotion out on it, after which Dana White seemingly apologized to the former middleweight champion.
Other former fighters, such as Randy Couture and Frank Mir, recently shared their thoughts on the matter with Sportskeeda MMA.
Couture said:
"I'm not surprised at all. They've done their best to whitewash me out of the books as well. That's how they treat anybody who doesn't go along with their good old boys' club. Honestly, that's the way they handle it, and if you're on the outs with Dana, then that's how you're going to be treated."
Watch Randy Couture's take below (7:50):
Mir, meanwhile, said that the UFC had the chance to follow the same blueprint they did for Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather, but dropped the ball:
"I think the situation was handled poorly. I mean, they already had the blueprint to handle it the same way they handled Conor and Mayweather. I don't know why they didn't do the same thing... It's like, just be a part of it, show good camaraderie. It shows, I mean, to me, it shows the loyalty then to the fighters that show such a high level. I really think the ball was dropped there."
Watch Mir's comments below (13:10):
Islam Makhachev to potentially return in December
According to Arman Tsarukyan, a lightweight title fight with Islam Makhachev was supposed to happen in October. But due to the champion's injury, it will now likely be scheduled in December, Tsarukyan said on the Ushataika channel.
He also said that Dan Hooker is a possible opponent if Makhachev is still not recovered by the year-end and the UFC decides to do an interim championship.
Watch his comments below with a translation provided by Red Corner MMA:
