Josh Samman

Joshua Kaleb Samman (March 14, 1988 – October 5, 2016) was an American mixed martial artist who, at the time of his death, competed in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and also competed for Bellator MMA.

Josh Samman
BornJoshua Kaleb Samman
(1988-03-14)March 14, 1988
Des Moines, Iowa, U.S.[1]
DiedOctober 5, 2016(2016-10-05) (aged 28)
Hollywood, Florida, U.S.[1]
Height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)[2]
Weight186 lb (84 kg; 13.3 st)
DivisionMiddleweight
Reach79 in (200 cm)[2]
StanceOrthodox
Fighting out ofTallahassee, Florida, U.S.
TeamMMA Masters
RankBrown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu[3] under Daniel Valverde[4]
Years active2006–2016
Mixed martial arts record
Total16
Wins12
By knockout7
By submission4
By decision1
Losses4
By knockout1
By submission2
By decision1
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Following amateur MMA fights in 2006, Samman made his professional MMA debut in 2007. Over the next five years, he amassed a record of 9 wins and 2 losses before joining the cast of The Ultimate Fighter.

The Ultimate Fighter

In January 2013, it was revealed that Samman was a cast member of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen. He won his preliminary bout over Leo Bercier via TKO in the first round. However, he drew the ire of both coaches and Dana White for what they perceived to be showboating during his bout. Samman was selected by coach Jones as his second pick (fourth overall).

In the next round, Samman defeated Tor Troéng by knockout in the first round. In the quarter final round, Samman defeated Jimmy Quinlan via submission in the first round. In the semi-finals, he faced eventual tournament winner Kelvin Gastelum. Despite being considered a heavy favorite by both coaches, Samman was quickly taken down by Gastelum and eventually submitted in the first round.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

On April 9, 2013, it was announced that Samman would face fellow season 17 alumni Kevin Casey at The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale.[5] After a close first round, Samman won the fight via TKO in the second round.

Samman was to replace Nick Ring against his former The Ultimate Fighter 17 rival Uriah Hall on August 17, 2013, at UFC Fight Night 26.[6] However, on July 17, he was taken out of the bout after an undisclosed injury.[7]

Samman was expected to face Caio Magalhães on April 19, 2014, at UFC on Fox 11 but was forced to withdraw after tearing his left hamstring.[8]

Samman faced Eddie Gordon on December 6, 2014, at UFC 181.[9] After losing the first round, he came back in the second round to land a left switch head kick on Gordon, knocking him out in what was considered one of the best knockouts of 2014. Samman's knockout earned him his first Performance of the Night bonus award.[10]

Samman faced Caio Magalhães on July 12, 2015, at The Ultimate Fighter 21 Finale.[11] He won the fight via rear naked choke in the first round which also earned a Performance of the Night bonus.[12][13]

Samman faced returning veteran Tamdan McCrory on December 19, 2015, at UFC on Fox 17.[14] He lost the back-and-forth fight via submission in the third round.[15]

Samman next faced Tim Boetsch on July 13, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 91.[16] He lost the fight via TKO in the second round.[17]

Literary work

Samman is the author of The Housekeeper: Love, Death, and Prizefighting, which chronicles his struggles with addiction; career-threatening injuries and the death of his girlfriend.[18]

Samman was a long time contributor to SB Nation's website Bloody Elbow, and in August 2014, Samman started submitting Fanposts regularly to the website.[19] In March 2015, BloodyElbow.com announced that Samman would become officially part of the staff and would be joining the website as a feature author.[20]

Samman was also a columnist for UFC.com.[21] In May 2016, Samman announced he would be contributing to an additional MMA website, flocombat.com.

Combat Night

In 2009, Samman began promoting a Mixed Martial Arts event in Tallahassee, Florida, dubbed “Ubersmash,” which featured Samman as the headliner and other local fighters on the bill.[22] When Florida legislation passed that allowed for the creation of amateur MMA sanctioning bodies, Samman and his business partner immediately set out to create Combat Night, which has since expanded to Jacksonville, Orlando, and Miami to become the largest MMA organization in the state.[22]

On Saturday, September 26, 2015, Samman and his business partner celebrated a successful 50th edition of Combat Night, drawing 4,000 fans to an amateur MMA show in Tallahassee, Florida.[23]

Personal life

On August 30, 2013, Samman's girlfriend Hailey Bevis died in a single-car accident while the two were texting each other.[24]

On September 29, 2016, Samman and a friend, Troy Kirkingburg, were found unresponsive in a South Florida apartment due to a drug overdose. His friend, an MMA announcer for a local Florida promotion, was pronounced dead from an overdose of cocaine, heroin and pain killers upon arrival at the hospital, while Samman remained in critical condition and in a coma.[25][1] Samman died on October 5, 2016.[26]

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

Mixed martial arts record
Professional record breakdown
16 matches 12 wins 4 losses
By knockout 7 1
By submission 4 2
By decision 1 1
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Loss 12–4 Tim Boetsch TKO (punches) UFC Fight Night: McDonald vs. Lineker July 13, 2016 2 3:49 Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States
Loss 12–3 Tamdan McCrory Submission (triangle choke) UFC on Fox: dos Anjos vs. Cowboy 2 December 19, 2015 3 4:10 Orlando, Florida, United States
Win 12–2 Caio Magalhães Submission (rear-naked choke) The Ultimate Fighter: American Top Team vs. Blackzilians Finale July 12, 2015 1 2:52 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Performance of the Night.
Win 11–2 Eddie Gordon KO (head kick) UFC 181 December 6, 2014 2 3:08 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Performance of the Night.
Win 10–2 Kevin Casey TKO (knees) The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen Finale April 13, 2013 2 2:17 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 9–2 Mikey Gomez Submission (punches) XFC 16 February 10, 2012 2 2:17 Knoxville, Tennessee, United States
Loss 8–2 Dan Cramer Decision (unanimous) Bellator 46 June 25, 2011 3 5:00 Hollywood, Florida, United States
Win 8–1 John Walsh TKO (punches) Moon Management: Ubersmash 4 August 28, 2010 1 1:19 Tallahassee, Florida, United States
Win 7–1 David Baggett Submission (triangle choke) Moon Management: Ubersmash 3 April 24, 2010 1 1:20 Tallahassee, Florida, United States
Win 6–1 Chris Cope KO (punches) Moon Management: Ubersmash 2 January 23, 2010 1 0:56 Tallahassee, Florida, United States
Win 5–1 Colby McMahon TKO (punches) Moon Management: Ubersmash 1 October 3, 2009 1 2:23 Tallahassee, Florida, United States
Win 4–1 Ryan Hodge Submission (choke) WWCF: Blood War November 29, 2008 2 2:41 Ormond Beach, Florida, United States
Loss 3–1 John Walsh Submission (arm-triangle choke) ISCF: Unleashed March 28, 2008 1 0:48 North Carolina, United States
Win 3–0 Michael Shoffner TKO (punches) Reality Combat Championship 2: The Second Encounter March 1, 2008 1 1:24 Jacksonville, Florida, United States
Win 2–0 Michael Adams TKO (punches) ISCF: Winnersville Wars September 15, 2007 2 0:52 Valdosta, Georgia, United States
Win 1–0 Travis Miller Decision (unanimous) Reality Combat Championship 1 April 28, 2007 3 5:00 Jacksonville, Florida, United States

Mixed martial arts exhibition record
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Loss 3–1 Kelvin Gastelum Submission (rear-naked choke) The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen 1 4:03 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Semi-finals.
Win 3–0 Jimmy Quinlan Submission (punches) The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen 1 4:38 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Quarter-finals.
Win 2–0 Tor Troeng KO (punches) The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen 1 4:02 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Preliminary bout.
Win 1–0 Lou Bercier TKO (punches) The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen 1 1:49 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Entry bout.

See also

References
  1. Thomas Myers (2016-10-18). "Report:UFC fighter Josh Samman's roommate 'died from a massive accidental drug overdose'". mmamania.com. Retrieved 2016-10-18.
  2. "Fight Card - The Ultimate Fighter Finale American Top Team vs. Blackzilians". UFC.com. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  3. Thomas Gerbasi (July 12, 2015). "Samman Impresses, Subs Magalhaes in One". UFC.com.
  4. Dan Kuhl (December 15, 2015). "UFC on Fox 17's Josh Samman: A Pioneer For The Sport He Loves". Combat Press.
  5. "TUF 17 Finale fight card". mmafighting.com. April 9, 2013. Retrieved April 9, 2013.
  6. Staff (2013-07-01). "Nick Ring out, Josh Samman meets Uriah Hall at UFC on FOX Sports 1 1". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2013-07-01.
  7. Staff (2013-07-17). "John Howard re-signs with the UFC, fights Uriah Hall at UFC on Fox Sports 1". bostonherald.com. Archived from the original on 2013-07-20. Retrieved 2013-07-17.
  8. Steph Daniels (2014-04-08). "UFC on FOX 11: Josh Samman out of fight with Magalhaes". bloodyelbow.com. Retrieved 2014-04-08.
  9. Mark La Monica (2014-09-23). "Eddie Gordon vs. Josh Samman added to UFC 181". newsday.com. Retrieved 2014-09-23.
  10. Staff (2014-12-06). "UFC 181 Bonuses: Anthony Pettis, Sergio Pettis, Josh Samman, Matt Hobar Get $50K". sherdog.com.
  11. Mookie Alexander (2015-04-22). "Josh Samman vs. Caio Magalhaes set for TUF 21 Finale in Florida". bloodyelbow.com. Retrieved 2015-04-22.
  12. Mookie Alexander (2015-07-12). "TUF 21 Finale results: Josh Samman gets quick stoppage on the prelims". bloodyelbow.com. Retrieved 2015-07-12.
  13. Mike Sloan (2015-07-12). "'TUF 21' Finale Bonuses: Thompson, Usman, Masvidal, Samman nab $50K". sherdog.com. Retrieved 2015-07-12.
  14. Dave Doyle (2015-08-21). "Dollaway vs. Marquardt, Samman vs. McCrory added to UFC on FOX 17 in Orlando". MMAFighting.com. Retrieved 2015-08-21.
  15. Ben Fowlkes (2015-12-19). "UFC on FOX 17 results: Tamdan McCrory submits Josh Samman in UFC return". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2015-12-19.
  16. Staff (2016-04-21). "UFC Fight Night 91 gets Tim Boetsch vs. Josh Samman". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2016-04-21.
  17. Brent Brookhouse (2016-07-13). "UFC Fight Night 91 results: Tim Boetsch busts up Josh Samman for TKO upset win". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2016-07-13.
  18. UFC fighter's memoir is a portrait of grief. OrlandoSentinel.com. Retrieved on May 17, 2016.
  19. What Will Your Verse Be?. BloodyElbow.com. Retrieved on May 17, 2016.
  20. UFC middleweight Josh Samman joins Bloody Elbow as feature writer. BloodyElbow.com. Retrieved on May 17, 2016.
  21. Samman's Corner - Getting the Call . UFC.com. Retrieved on May 17, 2016.
  22. Combat Night 50 headed to Cascades Park. Tallahassee.com. Retrieved on May 17, 2016.
  23. Samman Right At Home After Battling Grief. UFC.com. Retrieved on May 17, 2016.
  24. Ben Fowlkes (2014-12-02). "After girlfriend's death, Josh Samman takes guilt, grief into UFC 181". MMAjunkie.com. Retrieved 2016-10-01.
  25. Staff (2016-09-30). "Report: Josh Samman found unresponsive, in critical condition". BJPenn.com. Retrieved 2016-09-30.
  26. Marc Raimondi (2016-10-05). "UFC fighter Josh Samman dead at the age of 28". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2016-10-05.
  27. "MMAjunkie's 'Knockout of the Month' for December 2014". 23 December 2014.
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