Josh Samman has passed away, aged just 28.
The UFC fighter was found unresponsive in an apartment in Florida on Friday and has since been in a coma until he was declared dead in the hospital on Wednesday.
His manager Gary Ibarra confirmed the tragic news to
FOX Sports.
Samman, a middleweight with a 12-5-0 record in the UFC, was discovered with announcer Troy Kirkingburg who was pronounced dead at the scene but it remains unclear how the pair passed away.
What isn't in any doubt is the awful hole that his passing leaves. Samman was an affable character full of life and he took that energy and that fearlessness that he had into every bout, twice winning a UFC performance of the night bonus.
https://twitter.com/JoshSamman/status/777523514110676993
He already had one of the most crushing stories when his childhood sweetheart died in a car crash in 2013 whilst they were both texting one another.
After she passed, Samman, a native of Florida, spoke beautifully about his girlfriend:
"People say you don’t know what you have until it’s gone, but I knew. I knew what I had when I had it."
And the MMA world knew what they had when they had Samman. His passing has hit the community hard and tributes have piled in for the Ultimate Fighter 17 legend.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BLLtMkRhxS5/?taken-by=gjsvictorymma
https://twitter.com/JedKMeshew/status/783702060751527937
https://twitter.com/KidNate/status/783702335771910145
https://twitter.com/Itzxnate/status/783701843788476416
https://twitter.com/JonathanShrager/status/783701800977371136
https://twitter.com/KelvinGastelum/status/783699955412180996
https://twitter.com/ScottHarrisMMA/status/783697203072233472
https://twitter.com/mikedyce/status/783695200799498241
https://twitter.com/Patrick_Wyman/status/783694462149025792
Rest in peace, Josh.
