Chael Sonnen pays tribute to teammate Benji Radach following his tragic death: “It’s a hard moment”

UFC Hall of Famer Chael Sonnen has issued a lengthy statement on the recent death of his former teammate Benji Radach.

Radach, 45, passed away earlier this week, as announced by family and friends on social media. As of this writing, his cause of death hasn’t been publicized.

Radach’s death shocked the MMA world on Tuesday, especially former colleagues and opponents who faced him in the cage. Sonnen was a teammate of Radach’s for a significant chunk of his career.

Chael Sonnen reflects on teammate Benji Radach

In a recent video uploaded to his YouTube channel, Sonnen spoke about Radach’s legacy and life.

“I had a teammate named Benji Radach, and this guy was awesome,” Sonnen said. “Benji was not any of the things that you would think of as a cage-fighter. For example: college dropout, didn’t have a lot of support at home, in and out of trouble…it wasn’t any of these things [with Benji]…he had one girlfriend and treated her wonderfully. He treated everybody very nicely…I knew he had a successful life as an electrician, beautiful kids, and everything going his way, all I wanted for him was to be able to live his dream. To get to the UFC…

“To build that portfolio and say ‘Aw shucks, look what I did in my younger days within my spare time’. There was a change in Benji’s mind, the sport that he took very care-free…there was a time when those memories weren’t enough, he needed a championship,” Sonnen continued. “He lost a fight and it embarrassed him. And because it embarrassed him, he was too hard on himself…he epitomized being a fighter. Not aggression, not when you’re mean and fast, and when you attack something else. When life itself knocks you down, do you stay there or do you get up? And Benji Radach every single time, got up. Benji will be remembered as a fighter, as a friend, a very handsome guy…it’s sad, it’s a hard moment because his life was cut very short. Benji, I will not say goodbye, but I will tell you until we meet again.”

Radach retired from MMA in 2015 after Bellator 137. During his career, he fought in the UFC, Elite XC, and Strikeforce and amassed a 21-7-1 record.