The Josh Samman
MMA Foundation.
Combat Night was built to give young fighters their first shot at the cage. The foundation that carries his name keeps that promise - investing in the next generation of athletes chasing the dream he built for everyone else.
Josh Samman.
The co-founder. The fighter. The reason a kid in Florida ever got a first walk to the cage.
In 2012, in Tallahassee, Josh Samman and his longtime friend Mitchell Chamale set out to build something Florida didn't have - a place where young athletes could get a real fight, on a real card, in front of a real crowd. They called it Combat Night. It would grow into the largest MMA promotion in the state.
He didn't just build the dream for others; he lived it. A cast member of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen, Samman fought his way to the UFC middleweight division, where he earned two Performance of the Night honors - the switch head-kick knockout of Eddie Gordon at UFC 181 among them. Away from the cage he was a writer, author of the memoir The Housekeeper: Love, Death, and Prizefighting.
He was 28 when he passed in 2016. Combat Night's Hall of Honor begins, and will always begin, with him.
He gave a generation of fighters their first walk to the cage. The work continues in his name.
Larry Folsom.
The referee who watched over every fighter in the cage, since the very first Combat Night card.
Larry Folsom refereed inside the Combat Night cage since the organization's very first card in 2012 - the official inside every fight, watching for the one thing that mattered more than the result: that every fighter walked out safe. An Association of Boxing Commissions certified MMA referee licensed in both Florida and Georgia, he built a career respected far beyond Combat Night, officiating for the UFC, PFL, and Combate Global.
Off the mat, he served 29 years with the Leon County Sheriff's Office, fourteen of them on the Bomb Squad and twenty on SWAT, rising to Lieutenant over the Special Operations Unit. A Black Belt in Judo and a Brown Belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, he started training as a teenager and spent the rest of his life protecting people, in the cage and out of it.
Larry passed away in September 2024, at 57. The Florida MMA community remembers him as one of the most trusted officials in the sport, and as a man who checked on a fighter's condition long after the final bell.
Troy Kirkingburg.
The ring announcer. The voice that called Combat Night's fighters into the cage.
Troy Kirkingburg came to Tallahassee from Hillsdale, Michigan for Florida State, and found his stage inside a cage. As "The Natural", he became Combat Night's ring announcer - the voice that opened its cards and called its fighters into the lights, part of the promotion's founding family alongside Josh and Mitchell.
The mic carried him far past one promotion. He announced and hosted MMA events across the country, from Combat Night's cards to Island Fights and beyond, and made music of his own when he wasn't making an arena's.
Troy passed away in September 2016, at 28. His family remembers him as "a big dreamer who positively impacted all the lives of people he knew and loved." At Combat Night, he is remembered every time the mic goes live.
Carrying the dream forward.
After his passing, Josh's family and friends started a non-profit in his name. Its work is the most fitting tribute there is: putting young athletes in a position to chase the same dream he chased.
Stand in his corner.
The foundation is active today - awarding athletes, outfitting gyms, and keeping the door open. Every contribution goes to a fighter who reminds the sport of why Josh started.
Give to the Foundation.
Donate directly to the Josh Samman MMA Foundation, or reach out about sponsorship and getting involved.
He built a place for young fighters to chase the dream - then spent his life proving it could be done.The Combat Night Hall of Honor · Founder's Circle