The torrent of rain let up five minutes ago, but there's still a mist coming down over South Florida.

The sidewalks are dotted with puddles, and despite being close to midnight, the region’s notorious humidity refuses to yield. It doesn't seem to bother Josh Samman.

The UFC middleweight makes his way through a market district in Hollywood, Florida, and he seems to be oblivious to the conditions surrounding him. As a native Floridian, it’s clear he’s used to the elements, but his mind is somewhere other than the thick night he’s navigating.

A speaker playing Cuban infusion music blasts somewhere behind him, and Samman flashes a smile.

“You hear that music playing?” Samman asks. “That’s what I love about this place. It’s always alive and moving. This is what is real. All of these little neighborhood spots with great food and awesome people are the things I appreciate. It really is a beautiful night [laughs].”

A listener and an observer

A few more strides up the street, and Samman ducks into a restaurant he regularly frequents. The servers know him by name, and their banter remains constant throughout his stay. Samman is several weeks away from his next trip to the Octagon, where he’ll face Tim Boetsch in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, but it’s clear compartmentalizing isn’t a problem for him.

In fact, getting to the topic of his upcoming bout isn’t necessarily easy. In those conversations, Samman has to talk about himself. A listener and an observer by nature, Samman is far more interested in discovery than addressing things he already knows.

“Tim is a big strong guy who has been around this division for a long time,” Samman says. “He has an established name, and I’m looking forward to going in there and proving I’m up for the challenge. I didn’t have a great performance in my last fight, and I really want to get back into the win column.

“I think I’m the more versatile fighter in the matchup, but he does have a lot of power. It’s going to be a fun night in South Dakota.”

The Renaissance Man

Outside of that snippet over sushi and dumplings, the Boetsch fight hardly comes to the table. In its place, there is talk of literature (He has a copy of "The Alchemist" on his kitchen table) and music.

Quality speculations on the current season of "Game of Thrones" bridges those subjects together. Six days later, after all of Samman’s theories prove true, he coyly responds with another smile and a nonchalant “told you so” shrug.

Despite being deep into training camp, Samman doesn’t wear the rigors of the work invested. He’s been involved in the fight game for a long time as both a competitor and promoter, and the years spent in the trade have been educational. He deems them critical to his success in such an intense sport.

“Fighting and running Combat Night has really shown me all sides of this sport,” Samman says on a late night drive. “My job with the promotion is really a full-time gig and the hard work we’ve put into it has helped make it a big success in South Florida. On the fighting side, man, it’s been a roller coaster from the start, but the experience is what matters. I am able to live the life I live because of my involvement in MMA.

“There is a reason I only fight two times a year,” he adds. “It’s a fully encompassing sport where you have to be all in or it spits you out. I love the challenges and discipline required to succeed and if there’s anything to know about me it’s that I am all about testing myself.”

'The Housekeeper'

Most of what Samman describes as a “roller coaster” is captured in his recently published memoir, “The Housekeeper.” In the book, Samman recalls the triumphs and tragedies he’s experienced over the past three decades, but the crux of the story is intertwined in a love story that brought about the brightest and darkest days of his life.

Samman’s personal account of the relationship he shared and tragically lost with the great love of his life blurs the lines of genre in literature, as the stories intersect to make it a memoir, biography and autobiography all rolled into one engrossing tale.

“It took me nearly three years to put the book together,” Samman recalls. “I had all of these little anecdotes and stories written down and needed to shape them into an actual story. Everything about her came straight from memory, and it was difficult to revisit. Writing it down was cathartic in a sense, but I had to come to grips with losing her all over again.

“Even though the book is about me, in a larger sense it’s about her. It’s tribute to all the happiness she brought into my life and the world around her.”

The soul-baring required to create “The Housekeeper” also plays a part in his reluctance to put himself as the subject of conversation.

“I spent a lot of time having to put myself as the point of focus in that book, and I’m cool with just playing the wall for a bit,” Samman says. “I had all of these experiences I just saved up, and when that cup got full, I poured it all out into the book. Now I get to start filling that cup up again, and the way I do that is by living my life and taking in everything I can.”



With a profile that continues to elevate in the UFC, a thriving business and a multitude of avenues for him to explore, Samman is excited for the road ahead. Whether he’s seen as a Renaissance Man or a “Searcher” doesn’t concern him, but those things make him a rarity in sport where hand-to-hand combat is business.

On July 13, he will step into a cage and throw hands, feet and knees with another talented human being. But that night is still three weeks away, and there is a winding path between then and now.

In some ways, it seems as if the chaotic schedule and the high-stakes game he calls a career were all a part of a larger vision he had for himself. But that’s not a question he’ll give an answer to, and without a response, the mystery of Josh Samman spins out just a bit further.

Perhaps that’s something he knows as well, and the universe is in perfect sync with his timing as the dark skies overhead unleash another spate of rain.

“You have to love Florida weather,” he laughs. “Always keeps things interesting.”