10 tragic deaths in MMA

#3 Josh Samman

Josh Samman and Hailey Bevis

When Cheryl Phoenix, Josh Samman's mother, was interviewed after his death, she showed media a picture her son had drawn of himself as a kid, of what he wanted to be when he grew up. It was a drawing of a fighter, hand raised, with a championship belt wrapped around his waist. But as he entered his teens, it seemed as though that dream would never come to pass.

Samman developed a serious drug habit and spent time behind bars for burglary and grand theft. By his late teens, Samman had dropped out of school, was on his own, selling drugs to pay the bills. As if guided by fate, Samman chanced upon an MMA gym one day and it seemed that a spear of light had broken through the darkness that was closing in on him.

Life took a turn for the better when Samman got back together with former flame Hailey Bevis, herself a recovering addict. According to those close to him, Samman became a kinder, gentler person after Bevis reentered his life. But tragedy struck in August 2013 when Bevis died in a car crash. Samman started having suicidal thoughts, but penning his memoir was a salve for the pain.

On December 6th, 2014, Bevis' birthday, Samman produced a contender for KOTY when he head kicked Edie Gordon. The win was all the more special because Samman had lost his grandmother, stepfather and dog that year. In the meantime, Samman and his friend Troy Kirkingburg founded one of Florida's most successful MMA promotions.

Samman continued using drugs but it seemed as though he kept it on a tight leash. It turned out otherwise when Samman was found unconscious and Kirkingburg dead, in their apartment on September 29. The medical examiner believes that he had overdosed on heroin. Samman slipped into a coma and passed away 6 days later.