Dana passed away about 4 years ago in Australia. He'd been living there for many years training kickboxers.
Kru Rob Kaman all the way!!! Benny was REAL good, but Rob would crush Benny!!!
jcblass: do you think Benny lies about his record?
chitat: If you have some familiarity with this event, i'd like details. Was ground work allowed? Who else fought?
'I'm referring to the Tommy Lee event held in Hawaii in 1974."
Can't find much if anything on that particular event.
Benny fought in Hawaii in 1976 in a PKA Full Contact match beating Earnest Hart Jr. Same card, Ted Limoz defeated the legendary Joe Lewis.
1974 was the first big year of Full Contact Karate around the USA, and Benny was right in the thick of things.
1974 Benny also fought and lost in Long Beach Cal to John Natividad, a TKD fighter, in a major point fighting tourney.
No idea as to an NHB card in Hawaii during that period. I'd like to read more on it obviously.
wasn't really a NHB show, but you could throw and win by pinning.... I saw one of Benny's matches from it, he sweeps the guy and pins him in side mount to win the match
John Natividad vs. Benny Urquidez was for the Grand Championship at the Long Beach Internationals. It was a great fight and a close match. Benny wiped his hair from his eyes and John scored with a back fist to win the fight.
"chitat: If you have some familiarity with this event, i'd like details. Was ground work allowed? Who else fought?"
Like lkf said - there were throws allowed and some groundwork but it was billed as the World Series of Martial Arts. You could win with either striking or grappling. There were martial arts guys, boxers, wrestlers and sumo wrestlers entered in it IIRC. I'd have to dig up an old magazine to give more details. Without looking it up I don't know who else fought in it but Benny's opponenets at this event were :
Bill Rosehill KO3
Futi Semanu KO2
Tom Mossman TKO2
Burnis White KO2
Dana Goodson Dec3
Benny beat Goodson to win it and I think Goodson weighed like 250 lbs.
RAZE LOVES ROB KAMAN!!!
both are great fighters ,different weight classes.benny was fighting when kickboxing was still practicaly new benny wouldnt duct anyone neither would rob, benny had a much more well versed style with a spinning back kick from hell that was pin point accurate, rob was a devastating leg kicker.rick roufus also beat rob...just two bad ass fighters, id love to fight like either of them
I have to give benny his props for fighting in that World series thing. That sounds pretty hardcore.
Kaman was a legend in MT and Dutch MT, PLUS he was one of the best in FC rules too. Dude was a bad motherfucker. Those guys like Jan Wessels, Andre Meinhart, Maurice Smith, Ernesto Hoost, etc, etc, changed kickboxing from either being faggy foot tag full contact or "lets do PCP and round kick each until one of us falls down" MT. There'd be no K-1 without them, and MT wouldn't be as popular either.
And dude...uh, I think Kaman proved to be as versatile than Urquidez, probably more. If I remember correctly most of Benny's low kick fights were against Japanese fighters who fought just like him, and I remember interviews where he'd talk about how Thais always ducked him. I just can't get past how he always acted like he never got beat up in a MT match either when every obsessive compulsive fight fan and their grandma has it on tape (some have it on an incredibly cheesy japanese version with melododramatic movie and half-assed documentary stuff thrown in...hilarious).