Charles Daniel Bennett was born on November 23, 1979. He is an American mixed martial artist who currently fights in the featherweight division of the Gamebred Fighting Championship. He also competes as a bare-knuckle boxer in the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC).
Bennett is known for his unpredictable and fast-paced fighting style. He has been a professional competitor since 1999 and has fought in organizations such as PRIDE Fighting Championships, Rizin FF, EliteXC, King of the Cage, World Extreme Fighting, and ShoXC. Although he has not won a championship in MMA, many fans admire him and follow his career closely.
Background
Bennett was born in Gainesville, Florida, and is the second-oldest boy among his 11 siblings. He lived in Gainesville for the first eight years of his life before moving to Ocala, Florida, to live with his father after his mother was arrested for a drug-related charge. Bennett had a difficult childhood because his family was not together, and both of his parents used crack cocaine.
As a child, Bennett called himself the "black sheep" of his family, meaning he was seen as different from his siblings. However, he was very athletic and played football in high school. He played as a running back, linebacker, and even a defensive lineman, even though he was small in size. Bennett was removed from the football team during his sophomore year. Later, his father asked him to leave the family home during his junior year. Bennett eventually stopped attending high school and began selling illegal drugs.
While in and out of jail, Bennett saw an advertisement for a mixed martial arts gym in Ocala and decided to join. His coaches noticed his speed and strength, but at the time, he was still selling drugs. Eventually, Bennett stopped selling narcotics and focused on training in mixed martial arts. He was motivated to change his life after the birth of his first child, although he continued to be arrested for drug-related charges until 2011. Bennett also says that Terry Trebilcock Jr., the owner of King of the Cage, helped him improve his life.
Mixed martial arts career
In September 1999, at the age of 19, Bennett began his professional career in a regional promotion in Atlanta, Georgia. He competed in the lightweight weight class and lost to John Swift via submission. A year later, Bennett won his first professional fight by knocking out Todd Carney with a slam in the first round at the New Blood Conflict event for World Extreme Fighting. In his second WEF fight, he lost to Rich Clementi after tapping out to strikes in the first round. Bennett then won his next two fights via strikes before making his King of the Cage debut at KOTC 10 against Duane Ludwig. He lost after submitting due to exhaustion in the second round. Bennett then won 9 of his next 10 fights, including a win over former U.S. Marine Gerald Strebendt via submission due to strikes. His four-fight winning streak ended when he lost to future Pancrase Featherweight Champion Takumi Nakayama via submission.
With a record of 12-5, Bennett joined the Japanese promotion Pride Fighting Championships. He made his debut in Pride FC: Bushido 5 on October 14, 2004, where he lost to Takanori Gomi via kimura in the first round. This was also Bennett's first fight outside the United States. After returning to King of the Cage with mixed results, Bennett fought again in Pride FC: Bushido 7 on May 22, 2005, defeating Yoshiro Maeda via knockout in the first round.
On September 25, Bennett fought in Pride FC: Bushido 9, losing to Dokonjonosuke Mishima via submission in the first round. After failing to win the King of the Cage Bantamweight Championship against future WEC Featherweight Champion Urijah Faber, Bennett fought in Pride FC: Shockwave 2005 against Ken Kaneko and won via armbar submission. After the fight, Bennett tackled the referee, who responded by showing him a yellow card.
Following his fight with Kaneko, Bennett was involved in a backstage altercation with Cristiano Marcello, a member of the Chute Boxe Academy. In a video from Chute Boxe's website, Bennett is seen attacking Marcello. Bennett reportedly insulted the Chute Boxe Academy and Wanderlei Silva, leading to a scuffle. Bennett attacked Marcello with punches, and both men fell to the ground. Marcello used a triangle choke to submit Bennett before the fight was stopped. After regaining consciousness, Bennett knocked Wanderlei Silva unconscious.
On June 4, 2006, Bennett's final fight for Pride FC: Bushido 11 ended with a loss to Tatsuya Kawajiri via kneebar submission in the first round. His record with the promotion was 2-3.
On February 10, 2007, Bennett made his debut for EliteXC at the company's first event, EliteXC: Destiny, where he defeated K. J. Noons via knockout.
In 2004, Bennett appeared in the Chris Fuller film Loren Cass alongside fighters Din Thomas and Aaron Riley.
In September 2010, Bennett attended tryouts for The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck but did not make the final cast.
In October 2015, Bennett returned to active MMA competition with King of the Cage after a three-year absence. He fought six times in the next 11 months, achieving four wins and two losses.
In September 2016, Bennett competed in the featherweight division for Rizin Fighting Federation. He defeated Minoru Kimura via technical knockout in 7 seconds of the first round at the Rizin World Grand Prix 2016: 1st Round. After the fight, Bennett called out long-time rival Wanderlei Silva, asking for a fight. This callout became widely shared online due to Bennett's unusual behavior, including calling Silva "Candylei" and stating he "could run fast," along with using a racial slur to describe himself.
On September 29, 2024, Bennett fought in a special rules 2-on-1 MMA match at Full Metal Dojo's Fight Circus 8 in Phuket, Thailand. He faced Thai fighters "Bank" and "No Money" in the main event. The Thai fighters won by submitting Bennett via rear naked choke.
Bare-knuckle fighting
On August 25, 2018, Bennett competed against Michael McDonald at BKFC 2. He lost the match by TKO in the fourth round with 10 seconds remaining.
Bennett made his second appearance in the sport against Johnny Bedford at BKFC 9 on November 16, 2019. He lost the match by second-round technical knockout due to a hand injury.
He then faced Tyler Goodjohn at BKFC 15 on December 11, 2020, and lost the match by unanimous decision.
Bennett faced Pat Sullivan on February 7, 2026, at BKFC Knucklemania VI. He won the match by technical knockout at the end of the second round.
Bennett is planned to compete against Toby Misech on April 11, 2026, at BKFC Fight Night 36.
On June 18, 2021, Bennett faced Jason Knight in the main event of Jorge Masvidal’s Gamebred Fighting Championship (GFC), a typical MMA bout fought in a bare-knuckle style. Bennett knocked down Knight early and caused a cut on his face, but was taken down and submitted with a rear-naked choke in the first round.
On October 1, 2021, Bennett faced Rob Emerson in the co-main event of Gambred FC 2. He lost the match by knockout with 24 seconds left in the first round.
After losing to Ramon Taveras at a Combat Night Pro event, Bennett faced Keith Speed at Gamebred FC 4 on May 5, 2023. He lost the match by submission in the third round.
Bennett faced Joe Penafiel at Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA 7 on March 2, 2024, and lost the match by technical knockout in the third round.
Legal troubles
Between 1999 and 2009, he was arrested 14 times for charges such as selling cocaine, burglary, aggravated battery on a pregnant woman, and possession of MDMA. The charge of aggravated battery on a pregnant woman, which was related to an incident in 2002, was dropped. He was found guilty of two drug charges in 2000 and 2001 and was also found guilty of another aggravated battery charge in 2008, which was connected to a domestic dispute.
On January 16, 2011, Bennett was training at a gym in Bernalillo County, New Mexico, and had a physical fight with a teammate. According to a police report, the two became angry, and the other fighter knocked Bennett down. Bennett then dressed and left the building. However, he returned 15 minutes later carrying a heavy steel object and attacked the fighter from behind. He was charged with aggravated battery.
In 2013, he was arrested again for battery.