Charles Daniel "Krazy Horse" Bennett, born on November 23, 1979, is an American mixed martial artist known for his explosive fighting style and controversial persona. Currently competing in the featherweight division of Gamebred Fighting Championship, Bennett has been a professional competitor since 1999.
Early Life and Background
Bennett was born in Gainesville, Florida, and is the second-oldest boy of 11 siblings. He lived there for the first eight years of his life before moving to Ocala, Florida, to live with his father after his mother was arrested on a drug charge.
Growing up, Bennett had a troubled upbringing as he came from a broken home and both of his parents abused crack cocaine. He was often getting into fights, and was a self-described "black sheep" of the family. Despite this, he was very athletic and a talented football player in high school, playing running back, linebacker, and even defensive lineman despite his small stature. However, Bennett was kicked off the team during his sophomore year, and during his junior year, his father kicked him out of the house.
Bennett eventually dropped out of high school and turned his attention to selling narcotics. In between jail stints, he found a newspaper advertisement for a mixed martial arts gym in Ocala, and decided to sign up and join the gym. His coaches were very impressed with his speed and strength, but at the time, Bennett was still dealing drugs.
Eventually, motivated by the birth of his first child to change his lifestyle, Bennett stopped selling narcotics and focused on mixed martial arts-although he continued to be arrested on drug charges until 2011. Bennett also credits King of the Cage owner Terry Trebilcock Jr.
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Early Career
In September 1999, at only 19 years old, Bennett made his professional debut on a regional promotion in Atlanta, Georgia, competing in the lightweight weight class, where he lost to John Swift via submission. In his next bout a year later, he received his first professional win after he knocked out Todd Carney with a slam in the first round at the New Blood Conflict event for World Extreme Fighting. In Bennett's second WEF bout, he lost to Rich Clementi after tapping out to strikes in the first round.
Bennett won his next two fights via strikes, before making his King of the Cage debut at KOTC 10 against Duane Ludwig. Marine Gerald Strebendt via submission due to strikes.
Pride Fighting Championships
With a record of 12-5, Bennett signed with Japanese promotion Pride Fighting Championships, making his promotional debut against Takanori Gomi at Pride FC: Bushido 5 on October 14, 2004, in what was also Bennett's overseas debut. On September 25, Bennett made his next appearance for the promotion at Pride FC: Bushido 9, losing a bout to Dokonjonosuke Mishima by submission in the first round.
After failing to capture the King of the Cage Bantamweight Championship fight against future WEC Featherweight Champion Urijah Faber, Bennett fought at Pride FC: Shockwave 2005 against Japanese fighter Ken Kaneko, and won via armbar submission. After his bout with Kaneko, Bennett was involved in a backstage altercation with Cristiano Marcello, a member of the Chute Boxe Academy. Bennett charged at Marcello while throwing punches, and both men went to the ground, where Marcello put Bennett to sleep with a triangle choke before the fight was broken up.
On June 4, 2006, Bennett made his last appearance for the organization in at Pride FC: Bushido 11 against Tatsuya Kawajiri.
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Later Career
On February 10, 2007, Bennett made his debut for EliteXC, at the company's inaugural event EliteXC: Destiny against K. J. Noons. In September 2010, Bennett showed up at the tryouts for The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. In October 2015, after being away from the sport for nearly three years, Bennett returned to active MMA competition for his former organization, King of the Cage.
In September 2016, Bennett made an appearance for Rizin Fighting Federation, and competed in the featherweight division. He defeated Minoru Kimura by 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 in an attempt to fight him, which did not occur. On August 25, 2018, Bennett faced Michael McDonald at a Bare Knuckle FC event. Bennett made his sophomore appearance in the sport against Johnny Bedford at Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship 9: Lobov vs. Knight 2 on November 16, 2019. He then faced Tyler Goodjohn at Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship 15: Shewmaker vs. O'Bannon on December 11, 2020.
On June 18, 2021, Bennett faced Jason Knight for the main event of Jorge Masvidal's Gamebred Fighting Championship (GFC), a typical MMA bout but contested bare-knuckle style. On October 1, 2021, Bennett faced Rob Emerson in the co-main event of Gambred FC 2.
Bennett has competed in various promotions over the years. Here is a summary of some of them:
Felony Charles Bennett Highlights (Most entertaining mma fighter)
Legal Issues
Between 1999 and 2009, he was arrested 14 times on charges that included: selling cocaine, burglary, aggravated battery on a pregnant woman, and possession of MDMA. On January 16, 2011, Bennett was training at a gym in Bernalillo County, New Mexico, and got into a physical altercation with a teammate. According to a police report, tempers flared between the two, and the other fighter knocked down Bennett, who then got dressed and left the building. However, Bennett unexpectedly returned 15 minutes later armed with a heavy piece of steel and attacked the fighter from behind.
Fighting Style and Persona
Bennett is known for his cocky arrogance, often playing to the camera, insulting other fighters, and even disrespecting the referee, both during interviews and in the ring. One of his trademark moves is to sit atop of the corner ropes after the opening bell rings, and attempt to double push kick his opponent as he rushes in.
Controversies
In 2005, Bennett was involved in a backstage altercation with a member of Chute Boxe Academy at the Pride Shockwave 2005 in Saitama, Japan. In 2007, Bennett missed a fight in San Jose, California, because he missed his flight from Florida having just been released from jail. Recently, Bennett lost to long time rival Victor Valenzuela in a rematch at ShoXC on August 25. Prior to the fight with Valenzuela, the two had fought to a controversial draw, which sparked the feud.
On January 24, 2008, Bennett was supposed fight Victor Valenzuela in a King of the Cage event. However, Bennett was arrested for domestic dispute and faces several charges including strangulation. His bout with Valenzuela will be postponed. On August 4, 2000, Bennett was convicted in Marion County, Florida of possession of cocaine and sale of cocaine.
Summary of Promotions
| Promotion | Notable Fights/Events |
|---|---|
| Pride Fighting Championships | Fought against Takanori Gomi, Dokonjonosuke Mishima, and Tatsuya Kawajiri |
| Rizin Fighting Federation | Defeated Minoru Kimura |
| Bare Knuckle FC | Faced Michael McDonald and Johnny Bedford |
| Gamebred Fighting Championship | Faced Jason Knight and Rob Emerson in bare-knuckle MMA bouts |
| King of the Cage | Multiple appearances, including a fight against Duane Ludwig |