Josh Samman, a UFC middleweight fighter who has spent the past several days in a coma, died on Wednesday, October 5. He was 28 years old. The sad news was confirmed by Samman manager, Gary Ibarra, to Fox Sports. Ibarra told the network that Samman passed away in a hospital in Hollywood, Florida. Details are still coming in regarding what happened, but here is what we know at this time: The UFC fighter was found unresponsive last Thursday, September 29, alongside his friend Troy Kirkingburg… who was pronounced dead at the scene. He was also 28 years old. Police told the Tallahassee Democrat soon afterward that Samman had a pulse when he was discovered and was breathing when a friend found his body. According to law enforcement official, police responded to “a call of a possible drug overdose.” Samman struggled with substance abuse over the years, having chronicled his challenging life in his book “The Housekeeper: Love, Death, and Prizefighting.” According to the websote MMA Fighting.com, Samman was depressed after his girlfriend, Hailey Bevis, was killed in a car accident in 2013. He reportedly felt responsible for her death because they were sending text messages at the time she got into the crash. Broward County Medical Examiner and Trauma Services Chief Medical Examiner Craig Mallak told the aforementioned MMA website that Samman’s cause of death is not currently known. The site adds that “the Medical Examiner’s office will not administer a toxicology report because Samman survived for days after being found and ‘there are no suitable specimens to test.” It is possible we may never know the cause of death. Samman’s mother told Fox Sports this week that no heroin was found in his system, despite reports of a drug overdose. The fighter hailed from Iowa and did not leave behind any offspring. We send our condolences to his friends, family members and loved ones.
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Josh Samman Dies; UFC Fighter Was 28
