ONE Championship’s fanbase experienced a heavy blow on 15th April 2025. Former URCC champion and ONE Championship lightweight contender, Andrew Benibe, has passed away. Taking to Instagram, URCC wrote, “We are deeply saddened to share the news of the passing of a true warrior and former URCC Champion, Andrew Benibe.” But even though we lost the Filipino mixed martial artist about 2 weeks ago, we still don’t know the reason behind his untimely passing.
Benibe was nothing short of a fierce competitor. But unfortunately, his professional MMA record didn’t really justify his strengths. He began his journey with the Philippines Regional in 2006, in a losing effort. Thereafter, Benibe stuck to the Universal Reality Combat Championship since 2007, and remained there till 2017. He won 6 bouts, lost 10, and had a no-contest in 1 of his fights. His ONE Championship bout was actually in 2012, when he faced Honorio Banario at ONE FC 5: Pride of a Nation. But the bout ended with a KO defeat for Benibe. Nevertheless, he did carry a lot of weight as a former champion from the Philippines. With an affiliation with DEFTAC Philippines, he was a real MMA veteran.
Benibe’s passing was definitely a significant blow to the Filipino MMA community. An MMA journalist from the Philippines, Nissi Icasiano, decided to honor the memory of the ONE FC star through a Facebook post. The post showed a still of Benibe and the caption read, “Sad news for the Philippine MMA industry: Andrew Benibe, a former URCC bantamweight champion and a respected figure in the local fight scene, has passed away. Benibe also saw action on the international stage, having competed under the ONE Championship banner.”
Even after 15 days of his unfortunate demise, the world of mixed martial arts remains oblivious to the reason behind the tragic loss. However, the mourning phase began immediately after the Icasiano announced the shared the news. Let’s see what fight fans had to say about Benibe’s passing.
MMA realm pours in prayers for late Andrew Benibe
The fighting community had a single emotion running through their minds after they came across the FB post. Needless to say, they were heartbroken. As they offered their prayers, the fans didn’t forget to offer condolences to the Benibe family. One of the fans wrote, “Rest in peace our champ..deep sympathy to the bereaved family.” Another fan commented, “Rest in peace, champ. Condolence sa pamilya.” One more fan added, “This is sad. Condolences to the family. We crossed path before. RIP bro ”
Being a fighter with a strong communal sense, he was often seen coaching and training at DEFTAC Philippines and Maic’s Gym. He was also part of Rome Trinidad’s entourage during ONE: Grit and Glory. And that showed his role as a star out of Marikina City. One of the fans reflected on this and claimed that he once saw Benibe coaching at Maic’s Gym. The comment read, “So sad. May he rest in peace. Last time I saw him was 2010, coaching at Maic’s gym in Marikina.” Another comment went like, “Rest in peace our beloved Marist brother .” Another fan decided to thank the former champ for all the work he did in the MMA world. He commented, “Rest In Paradise Champ thank you very much for your hard work.”
And as the world searches for the real reason behind Benibe’s death, let’s join hands with the heartbroken fans from Marikina City and pray for Benibe’s family. Before we bid farewell, let us know about the one fight where Benibe truly impressed you in the comments below.
The post “Rest in Peace”: Truth Behind ONE Championship Star’s Death Remains Mystery 2 Weeks After MMA World Offered “Deep Sympathy” appeared first on EssentiallySports.
