Benny Drohan Podcast

Mick Mack grew up surrounded by violence in Western Sydney, with his upbringing teaching him how to fight long before he ever stepped into a boxing gym.He went on to have 61 amateur fights, win the Golden Gloves and fight for a shot at the Commonwealth Games before eventually walking away from boxing and what he believes could have been a very different career.Years later, Mick found his way back through Australia’s underground fight scene. A bare-knuckle fight in his sister’s front yard led to Bare Knuckle Australia and eventually Hood Contender’s Australian Street Fighting Championships, where three legendary fights established him as one of Australia’s most dangerous street fighters.Mick opens up about the street fights that shaped him, drinking before a bare-knuckle fight, the biggest misconception people have about him, and the complicated relationship he has with fighting.He also breaks down the rise of Australia’s underground fight clubs, why so many men are drawn to them, and whether he still has time to find out just how far his fighting ability can take him.This is the story of a man who hates conflict, but somehow became one of Australia’s most feared street fighters.🥊 Follow Mick:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠👊 Follow Bare Knuckle Australia⁠YouTube⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠Facebook⁠🥋 Follow Benny: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 🎙️ Follow Benny Drohan Podcast:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠👇 Chapters:00:00 Intro01:23 Growing Up in Western Sydney04:22 61 Fights, Golden Gloves & Commonwealth Games12:31 Mick’s Wildest Street Fight Stories16:48 Mick’s First Bare Knuckle Australia Fight29:13 The Biggest Misconception About Mick33:33 Mick’s Legendary Hood Contender Fights37:46 Inside Australia’s Underground Fight Clubs48:54 Why Men Are Drawn to Fight Clubs53:53 How Much Longer Has Mick Got Left?

He gambled his family’s house deposit to build an insane new combat sport.Danny Mac came from Melbourne’s western suburbs with no fight background, but has built International Brawling Championship, or IBC, into one of the fastest-growing combat sports on the planet.In this episode, Danny opens up about the failed businesses before IBC, being borderline bankrupt two years ago, and the relentless drive that kept him chasing success since he was a kid.He breaks down how losing money promoting boxing shows led to his wild idea for a hybrid combat sport built around forward pressure, violence, and non-stop action.Danny also walks through the brutal reality of building IBC from the ground up, from losing $350,000 on the first show to sold-out shows and broadcast deals he could have only dreamed of.This episode is about risk, obsession, and what happens when you bet everything you’ve got on yourself.📲 Follow Danny:⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠🥊 Follow INternational BrawlingYouTubeInstagramFacebookTikTok🥋 Follow Benny: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 🎙️ Follow Benny Drohan Podcast:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠👇 Chapters:00:00 Intro01:06 Who Is Danny Mac?11:13 International Brawling Championship Idea16:07 Betting the House on IBC24:24 Losses, Crowds & Broadcast Deals32:29 Regulation & World Domination

Matt "The Jedi" Floyd grew up in and out of foster homes.At 10, he was placed with a family that abused children in their care. By his teens, he was deep in street gangs and violence, before becoming one of the youngest bikie gang presidents in Western Australia at 22.But instead of chasing money or power, he had his crew hunting and kidnapping child predators.Eventually, it caught up with him. Matt spent six years in prison.For most people, that would have been the end. For Matt, it became the start of his fight back.Inside, he taught himself how to box. After getting out at 30, he turned pro. Today, he’s undefeated and fighting on some of the biggest platforms in combat sports.This episode is about abuse, rage, vigilante justice, prison, and what happens when you decide to fight back and become something more than your past.🥊 Follow Matt:⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠🥋 Follow Benny: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠ 🎙️ Follow Benny Drohan Podcast:⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠👇 Chapters:00:00 Matt "The Jedi" Floyd01:24 Growing Up in Foster Care03:50 The Abuse That Changed Everything10:00 The Predator Basketball Coach18:12 Street Gangs and Fighting21:28 Becoming the Youngest Bikie Gang President27:02 Hunting Child Predators28:16 The Police Setup and Prison Sentence32:35 Confronting the Predator Informant45:32 Prison, Boxing and Redemption50:03 Boxing Career, BKFC and Misfits

Tony Jeffries won Olympic bronze in boxing, then turned pro and started building an unbeaten record before one hometown fight changed everything.He opens up about how his promoter talked him into a fight that was supposed to be six rounds, only for him to find out mid-fight, live on national TV, that it was eight.After that, he received thousands of abusive messages telling him he was shit and that he should die.He also reflects on being forced into boxing as a kid, punching a bully in the face at 10 after his parents told him to, and the dedication, sacrifice and self-doubt that followed him throughout his career.Eventually, both hands gave out, his boxing career was over at 27, and the drinking and depression took hold.But losing boxing became the best thing that ever happened to him, as he channelled that same obsession into becoming the biggest boxing educator in the world, with over 3 million YouTube subscribers.This episode is about what happens when the one thing you built your life around is taken away, and how you find a way to build something even bigger.🥊 Backstreet Brawla Boxing Apparel:InstagramWebsite✊ Follow Tony:YouTubeInstagramTikTokFacebook🥋 Follow Benny: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠ 🎙️ Follow Benny Drohan Podcast:⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠👇 Chapters:00:00 Intro01:10 Growing Up And Finding Boxing06:48 Becoming An Elite Amateur Boxer12:48 Qualifying For The Olympics15:40 Turning Pro And Falling Out Of Love With Boxing23:32 Retirement, Depression And Moving To America33:00 YouTube Success And The Guinness World Record45:45 Parenting, Bullying And Life Lessons

Prince Banjaku was raised on nightclub punch-ons and street scraps before fighting his way to a 19–0 record. He is now one win away from holding every major kickboxing belt at the same time, something no one has ever done.Prince opens up about the rage that stopped him smiling until he was 35, why the gym was the only thing keeping him from becoming a junkie or a criminal, and the mindset that made him impossible to beat.He breaks down the Cyrus Washington fight, where 90 percent of people picked him to lose, and the Chris Bradford knockout where he stopped a man 30 kilos heavier with a punch he does not even remember throwing.He also breaks down the Tsushi Mori fight, where he broke his fibula in the first round and still found a way to win.Then came the lockdowns, the SWAT raids, and the path that led to a year in jail, where everything changed.This episode is about what happens when a man who refuses to lose hits rock bottom and comes back more dangerous than ever.🥊 Follow Prince:⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠TikTok🥋 Follow Benny: ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠ 🎙️ Follow Benny Drohan Podcast:⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠👇 Chapters:00:00 Intro00:49 Being a Wog Kid in 90s Melton06:22 Anyone in My Situation Should Be a Junkie15:05 “You’re Going to Get Knocked Out”19:30 Beating Cyrus Washington (140-Fight Legend )20:48 30kg Heavier: The Chris Bradford Knockout28:58 Fighting Musashi Mori With a Broken Leg36:05 The Curse of Being Undefeated41:52 Lockdowns, SWAT Raids & Jail52:49 The 20–0 Fight for Undisputed

For someone to willingly step into a cage and fight another man… something’s not normal.You’re either wired differently… or there’s a deeper reason driving it.This week on the pod, I sit down with Luke Howard.An OG Aussie MMA fighter who was fighting in a cage long before there was a blueprint, a pathway, or any real structure to the sport.Before Volk, Whittaker, or Della became household names, Luke was already in there, headlining fight cards around the country.He opens up about his Australian title fight with Jack Della, stepping in when no one else would, taking it to him, and what it actually feels like to go out cold in a cage. The physical damage, the mental fallout, and the reality of fighting in the early days when safety was less regulated and the risks were higher.But this isn’t really a fight story.It’s about what drives someone to do it in the first place.Luke breaks down what he calls controlled violence, the difference between fighters who break and those who don’t, the danger of chasing validation, and why knowing your “why” can save you in and out of the cage.That mindset is what led him to becoming a world-class boxing coach at Soma Fight Club in Bali.If you’ve ever wanted to know what it really takes to live this life, the pain, the pressure, the mentality, Luke’s lived every bit of it.He is that guy. If you know, you know.🥷 Watch Luke in action:Eternal Title Fight vs Jack Della Comeback Fight vs Anthony Bynoe📲 Follow Luke:⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠🥋 Follow Soma Fight Club: ⁠Instagram⁠⁠Website⁠🥊 Follow Benny: ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠ 🎙️ Follow Benny Drohan Podcast:⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠👇 Chapters:00:00 Intro 01:02 Luke Howard’s Story 03:39 Injuries That Ended Judo 09:59 Transition to MMA 18:41 Chasing a Fighting Career 26:00 Moving to Bali 33:39 Life in Bali 35:25 Fighting Jack Della 51:46 Mental Health & Demons 53:26 Advice for Young Men 🥋 Stay in the fkn Fight

From East Auckland Street violence and not expecting to make it past 21 to building Bali’s toughest fight club.Mike Ikilei, founder of Soma Fight Club, opens up about growing up comfortable with violence, the moment a gym pulled him back from the edge, and how Soma became a global destination for fighters and more family than a facility.He talks about fatherhood, community, the ANZAC toughness that shaped him, and why titles are just byproducts of giving everything.If you’ve ever felt pulled toward chaos, struggled with direction, or wanted more from yourself, this conversation shows what happens when violence is turned into purpose.Mike shares the mindset behind Soma, the standards he lives by, and the code that built one of the world’s most respected fight communities.We break down the story behind the Soma name, the mission driving the movement, and what comes next.📲 Follow Mike:⁠Instagram⁠⁠Facebook🥋 Follow Soma Fight Club: InstagramWebsite🥊 Follow Benny: ⁠Instagram⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠Facebook⁠ 🎙️ Follow Benny Drohan Podcast:⁠YouTube⁠ ⁠Spotify⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠👇 Chapters:00:00 Intro00:01:41 Did Soma Become What Mike Originally Envisioned?00:04:09 Growing Up in East Auckland00:09:08 The Gym That Changed Mike’s Life00:14:01 Moving to Bali and Taking the Risk00:29:09 Building Soma Fight Club From Scratch00:31:26 How Soma Built a Global Fight Community00:33:07 The Biggest Challenge Facing New Gyms00:38:41 Building the Soma Brand00:43:03 The Story Behind the Name Soma00:46:32 Protecting the Culture Inside Soma00:51:40 Coaching India’s First UFC Fighter01:02:34 Outro🥋 Stay in the fkn Fight

Locky Tinhla grew up mixed-race with a violent, racist father before going on to fight bare-knuckle in Myanmar, inside the world’s most brutal combat sport.He opens up about the impact that environment had on his identity and mental health, how early exposure to violence shaped his worldview, and the years of self-destruction that nearly broke him before he found something that gave him direction.That search led him to Lethwei, the traditional Burmese bare-knuckle fighting sport widely regarded as the most brutal combat sport on earth. Locky explains how he discovered Lethwei, why it stood apart from every other fighting discipline, and what pushed him to fly to Myanmar, despite it being a red, do-not-travel zone, to take his first fight with minimal preparation.Now known as Australia’s only active Lethwei fighter, Locky breaks down what it was really like stepping into the ring in Myanmar, the realities of bare-knuckle fighting under Lethwei rules, and why he continues to return to one of the most dangerous combat environments in the world.This episode is a raw, unfiltered conversation about violence, identity, risk, and what it means to choose a path that everything and everyone says you shouldn’t.If this episode brings anything up for you, you do not have to carry it alone.If you are in Australia, you can contact MensLine Australia: 1300 78 99 78. Free, confidential support for men, 24 hours a day.If you are in immediate danger or need urgent help, contact Lifeline: 13 11 14📲 Follow Locky:InstagramYouTube🥊 Follow Benny: InstagramTikTokFacebook 🎙️ Follow Benny Drohan Podcast:YouTube SpotifyApple Podcasts👇 Chapters:00:00 Introduction 00:22 What Is Lethwei? (Burmese Bare Knuckle Fighting) 02:56 Who Is Locky Tinhla? 04:38 Identity Struggle 10:49 Mental Health Battle 19:31 Recovery & Finding Purpose 22:28 Luky’s Role in the Comeback 30:47 The Lethwei Gym Journey 36:10 Getting Asked to Fight 47:01 First Lethwei Fight 50:45 The Only Aussie to Fight Lethwei in Myanmar 51:56 How Many Fights Since the First? 58:42 How Locky Became a Content Creator 🥋 Stay in the fkn Fight

Nick “Special K” Kara is an OG fighting legend, a world-champion kickboxer whose journey from Melbourne street fights to the wild underbelly of Pattaya, Thailand, and the UFC’s Ultimate Fighter, is one of the wildest and jaw-dropping stories you’ll ever hear.For the first time, Nick opens up about his violent past, addiction, near-death experience, redemption and faith, from starring in cult Muay Thai film Ong-Bak to landing on Melbourne’s underworld hit list and somehow surviving it all.He went from street chaos to movie sets, from world titles to hospital beds, fighting for his life. This is the untold story of a man who lost everything, found faith, and fought his way back.If you’ve ever wondered what it takes to climb out of rock bottom and rebuild, this episode will hit hard.Stay till the end as Nick reveals how he finally found peace, purpose, and his reason to keep fighting.If this episode brings anything up for you, you do not have to carry it alone.If you are in Australia, you can contact MensLine Australia: 1300 78 99 78. Free, confidential support for men, 24 hours a day.If you are in immediate danger or need urgent help, contact Lifeline: 13 11 14🥷 Watch Nick in action:Onk-Bak Fight Scene vs Tony JaaWorld Title Fight vs Manson Gibson📲 Follow Nick:Instagram🥊 Follow Benny: InstagramTikTokFacebook 🎙️ Follow Benny Drohan Podcast:YouTubeSpotifyApple Podcasts👇 Chapters:00:00:00: Intro00:00:55: Who is Nick Kara00:03:19: hen Nick first discovered fighting00:10:11: The start of his Thailand journey00:12:56: Three major legal troubles00:16:33: Ending up in Thailand00:19:40: Where “Special K” comes from00:21:43: How Nick Kara landed a role in Ong-Bak00:28:38: Fighting Manson Gibson00:32:45: Winning the world title00:37:26: The addiction phase of Kara’s life00:38:56: The underground hit list00:45:45: Becoming a boxing coach01:01:07: Waking up in the hospital01:20:29: Outro🥋 Stay in the fkn Fight

At 14 years old, I woke up with a knife pressed against my throat as my older brother attempted to murder me and my entire family. That night changed everything. The next 30 years became a spiral of violence, addiction, self-destruction, and chaos that I could not escape. This is the story I have kept in the dark until now.In this episode, I share the truth about that night, what led to it, and how surviving an attempted murder shaped every decision I made afterwards. For the first time, I, Ben Drohan, open up about the relapses I hid, the lies I lived behind, the addictions that controlled me, and the way trauma drove the next three decades of my life.I talk about the drugs, the near jail moments, the business failures, the relationships I destroyed, and the people who stood by me when they probably should not have. I also share the final days of my mum’s life, how grief forced me to confront everything I had been running from, and the moment faith finally brought clarity after years of chaos.Hold onto your fkn hat because this is confronting, honest, and unfiltered. If you have lived through trauma, battled addiction, carried shame, lost your way, or wondered if change is still possible after decades of self-destruction, this story is for you.This is my untold story. This is the beginning of the Benny Drohan Podcast. This is proof that it is never too late, no matter what you have done or how far you have fallen. You just need to stay in the fkn fight.If this episode brings anything up for you, you do not have to carry it alone.If you are in Australia, you can contact MensLine Australia: 1300 78 99 78. Free, confidential support for men, 24 hours a day.If you are in immediate danger or need urgent help, contact Lifeline: 13 11 14🥊 Follow Benny: InstagramTikTokFacebook🎙️ Follow Benny Drohan Podcast:YouTubeSpotify Apple Podcasts👇 Chapters:00:00:00 Intro00:02:27 My Story00:08:54 The Night My Brother Tried to Kill My Family00:26:08 How Addiction Almost Sent Me to Jail00:34:54 What Addiction Really Is00:48:10 Why I Finally Stopped Destroying My Life01:02:22 What Life Looks Like Today01:04:41 A Final Message🥋 Stay in the fkn Fight