Josh Samman found after drug-overdose call; mother reportedly denies rumors of heroin as cause

UFC middleweight Josh Samman was found unresponsive in an apartment in south Florida after police were called to the scene on a suspected drug overdose.

Four days after he was found along with a friend who was later pronounced dead, the Hollywood (Fla.) Police Department today released a statement providing details on the incident, which left Samman hospitalized and in a coma.

According to the statement (read the statement), police responded to a call of a “possible drug overdose” on Sept. 29 at 7 p.m. local time and discovered a deceased male, Troy Jeffery Kirkingburg, 28, identified by a tallahassee.com report as Samman’s friend and an announcer for the Combat Night MMA promotion he owned.

Samman, 28, was also found “breathing, and had a pulse, but was unresponsive,” per the statement. A 911 call had been placed by a friend, Hunter Sundberg, who performed CPR until police arrived.

No signs of foul play were discovered, and police are investigating the matter, according to the statement.

News of Samman’s hospitalization surfaced this past week and prompted an outpouring of well wishes from the MMA community. UFC officials are in contact with the fighter’s management team.

According to tallahassee.com, Samman was in critical condition as of this past Saturday morning. Samman’s friend, Christopher J. Rothstein, stated the fighter is on a respirator (via Facebook):

Samman’s mother has released a statement confirming her son remains in a coma and denying rumors of heroin use as the cause of the overdose, per a statement obtained by FOXSports.com.

“In spite of speculation, there was no heroin found in Josh’s system whatsoever,” the statement read. “No matter what people are posting on social media. The reason I am making this statement is, because Josh touched so many lives, and loved inspiring others, especially young people. I don’t want them to lose faith in him, and whatever he brought out in them, because of the lies. He would want them to never give up.”

Samman’s life was touched by tragedy three years ago when his girlfriend died in a single-car accident; the two were texting each other at the time. He wrote about the experience in an autobiography and described his struggles with substance abuse.

An obituary posted by a local funeral home describes Kirkingburg as a Florida State University student. He studied business and hospitality and graduated in the class of 2010, per his Facebook page. He also was active in MMA, working as an announcer for several local MMA promotions, including Combat Night.

According to the Broward County coroner’s office, the cause of Kirkingburg’s death is pending due to additional testing that needs to be performed. A memorial service will take place Wednesday at the VanHorn-Eagle Funeral Home in Hillsdale, Minn.

The incident has shocked the Tallahassee community where Samman and Kirkingburg worked to build the sport of MMA.

“I think it has taken a lot of the community and his friends by shock, completely unexpected out of the both of them,” Tallahassee’s Joe Blackwood told tallahassee.com. “Both are great, great people who do a lot for the community and are well-known in the community. It has completely blindsided everybody.”

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