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 Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have be ...

division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and also competed for

Bellator MMA Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) is an American mixed martial arts promotion (entertainment), promotion founded in 2008 and based in Santa Monica, California, owned and operated as a subsidiary of television and media cong ...

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 Tor Troéng (born January 25, 1983) is a retired Swedish mixed martial artist previously fighting as a Middleweight for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He was a member FX's The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen. Early life Troén ...

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 ''The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen'' (also known as ''The Ultimate Fighter 17'') is the seventeenth installment of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)-produced reality television series ''The Ultimate Fighter''. The series ...

. 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. However, on July 17, he was taken out of the bout after an undisclosed injury. Samman was expected to face

Caio Magalhães Caio Magalhães (born December 14, 1987) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Middleweight division of the Professional Fighters League. A professional competitor since 2009, he has also competed for ...

on April 19, 2014, at

UFC on Fox 11 ''UFC on Fox: Werdum vs. Browne'' (also known as ''UFC on Fox 11'') was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on April 19, 2014, at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. Background The event was headlined by a he ...

but was forced to withdraw after tearing his left hamstring. Samman faced Eddie Gordon on December 6, 2014, at UFC 181. 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. Samman faced

on July 12, 2015, at The Ultimate Fighter 21 Finale. He won the fight via rear naked choke in the first round which also earned a ''Performance of the Night'' bonus. Samman faced returning veteran Tamdan McCrory on December 19, 2015, at

UFC on Fox 17 ''UFC on Fox: dos Anjos vs. Cowboy 2'' (also known as ''UFC on Fox 17'') was a mixed martial arts event held on December 19, 2015, at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. Background The event was headlined by a UFC Lightweight Championship bout ...

. He lost the back-and-forth fight via submission in the third round. Samman next faced Tim Boetsch on July 13, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 91. He lost the fight via TKO in the second round.

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. Samman was a long time contributor to

SB Nation ''SB Nation'' (an abbreviation for their full name ''SportsBlogs Nation'') is a sports blogging network owned by Vox Media. It was co-founded by Tyler Bleszinski, Markos Moulitsas, and Jerome Armstrong in 2005. The blog from which the network ...

's website Bloody Elbow, and in August 2014, Samman started submitting ''Fanposts'' regularly to the website. 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. Samman was also a columnist for UFC.com. 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.Combat Night 50 headed to Cascades Park
Tallahassee.com. Retrieved on May 17, 2016. 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. 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.

Personal life

On August 30, 2013, Samman's girlfriend Hailey Bevis died in a single-car accident while the two were texting each other. On September 29, 2016, Samman and a friend, Troy Kirkingburg, were found unresponsive in a

South Florida South Florida is the southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the other two are Central Florida and North Florida. South Florida is the southernmost part of th ...

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. Samman died on October 5, 2016.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

* Ultimate Fighting Championship **

Performance of the Night UFC Bonus Awards are three separate cash bonuses usually awarded to four fighters after each UFC event, based on internal decisions by UFC management. More/fewer bonuses have been awarded at some events, especially when no knockouts or submissions ...

(Two times) vs. Eddie Gordon and

*MMAJunkie.com **2014 December Knockout of the Month vs. Eddie Gordon

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 12–4 , Tim Boetsch , TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: McDonald vs. Lineker , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:49 , Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–3 , Tamdan McCrory , Submission (triangle choke) , UFC on Fox: dos Anjos vs. Cowboy 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:10 ,

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 12–2 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , The Ultimate Fighter: American Top Team vs. Blackzilians Finale , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:52 , Las Vegas, Nevada, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–2 , Eddie Gordon , KO (head kick) , UFC 181 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:08 , Las Vegas, Nevada, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–2 , Kevin Casey , TKO (knees) , The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen Finale , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:17 , Las Vegas, Nevada, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–2 ,

Mikey Gomez Carlos Michael "Mikey" Gomez (born May 8, 1982) is a Paraguayian former mixed martial artist. A professional from 2005 until 2015, he competed for Bellator, EliteXC, Cage Warriors, XFC, and RFA.https://www.graciemag.com/en/2011/04/28/mikey-gomez ...

, Submission (punches) , XFC 16 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:17 , Knoxville, Tennessee, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–2 ,

Dan Cramer Daniel John Cramer (born October 31, 1985) is an American retired mixed martial artist. A professional from 2009 until 2014, Cramer made his professional debut with the Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) and was a competitor on SpikeTV's '' T ...

, Decision (unanimous) , Bellator 46 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Hollywood, Florida Hollywood is a city in southern Broward County, Florida, United States, located between Fort Lauderdale and Miami. As of July 1, 2019, Hollywood had a population of 154,817. Founded in 1925, the city grew rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s, and is now ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–1 , John Walsh , TKO (punches) , Moon Management: Ubersmash 4 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:19 , Tallahassee, Florida, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , David Baggett , Submission (triangle choke) , Moon Management: Ubersmash 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:20 , Tallahassee, Florida, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Chris Cope , KO (punches) , Moon Management: Ubersmash 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:56 , Tallahassee, Florida, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–1 , Colby McMahon , TKO (punches) , Moon Management: Ubersmash 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:23 , Tallahassee, Florida, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–1 , Ryan Hodge , Submission (choke) , WWCF: Blood War , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:41 , Ormond Beach, Florida, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 3–1 , John Walsh , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , ISCF: Unleashed , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:48 , North Carolina, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Michael Shoffner , TKO (punches) , Reality Combat Championship 2: The Second Encounter , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:24 , Jacksonville, Florida, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Michael Adams , TKO (punches) , ISCF: Winnersville Wars , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:52 , Valdosta, Georgia, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Travis Miller , Decision (unanimous) , Reality Combat Championship 1 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Jacksonville, Florida, United States ,

Mixed martial arts exhibition record

, Loss , align=center, 3–1 , Kelvin Gastelum , Submission (rear-naked choke) , The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:03 , Las Vegas, Nevada, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Jimmy Quinlan , Submission (punches) , The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:38 , Las Vegas, Nevada, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Tor Troeng , KO (punches) , The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:02 , Las Vegas, Nevada, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Lou Bercier , TKO (punches) , The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:49 , Las Vegas, Nevada, United States ,

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Samman, Josh 1988 births 2016 deaths American male mixed martial artists American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Middleweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Mixed martial artists from Florida Sportspeople from Orlando, Florida Drug-related deaths in Florida Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters