PFL prospect Sammy Jo Luxton will never forget the terrifying moment she believed her life was ending. Instead of preparing for her highly anticipated promotional debut, following a stunning 18-second head kick knockout in March 2024 that had brought her significant attention, Luxton was navigating a series of devastating health challenges.
Her ordeal began with a cancer diagnosis requiring emergency surgery. As if this wasn`t enough, these medical issues arose while she was confronting the harsh reality of her father`s impending death after a massive heart attack.
Luxton shared her story, detailing the heartbreaking sequence of events. “My grandma passed away unexpectedly. Six weeks later, my dad suffered a heart attack and was put into an induced coma,” Luxton recounted. “I went to be by his side. While there, I needed emergency surgery myself, ending up in the ward just below my dad`s. The hospital staff had to wheel me up to his floor so I could be present when he passed away.”
Just six weeks later, despite everything, she pushed herself back into training, looking forward to the PFL European tournament. Unbeknownst to her, a severe infection from her recent surgery was spreading throughout her body, leading to a life-threatening condition: sepsis.
Sepsis is a critical state where the body`s response to infection causes widespread inflammation, potentially leading to organ damage or failure. When Luxton first felt unwell, she initially dismissed it as the typical fatigue from a demanding fight camp, unaware of the grave danger she was in.
“I didn`t realize,” Luxton explained. “I just thought it was my body nearing the end of camp – feeling sore, tired, and generally unwell. Then I started experiencing tremors during training, which progressed into seizures. I was rushed to the hospital with a temperature soaring to 42°C (107°F), a point where it`s essentially life or death.”
Facing severe risks due to the extreme fever and sepsis, Luxton was hospitalized. The British fighter vividly remembers a moment during her critical state:
“I had sepsis and was unable to walk or talk. It was incredibly scary,” Luxton stated. “An apprentice nurse was working on my ward. I developed chest pains, they laid me flat, and grabbed the defibrillator. My heart rate was dangerously high, and she started saying, `She`s 25, she`s too young to die!`”
“I can`t fully describe the feeling, but my entire body just relaxed because I thought, `I am about to die.` All I could think about was everything my family had already gone through that year, and then losing me too? The thought was horrific.”
Thankfully, doctors were able to reduce her fever and bring the sepsis under control, allowing Luxton to survive and face another day.
Despite her deep passion for MMA, the now 26-year-old athlete honestly wondered if her dream of becoming a champion was over, reeling from the tragic loss of her father and her own brush with death.
“After getting through it, I felt like the universe was telling me that I wouldn`t fight again,” Luxton said. “It truly felt like the universe had put a full stop on that path for me.”
Compounding her doubts was the ongoing grief over her father, who had been an unparalleled source of support throughout her life, especially regarding her fighting career.
Luxton`s father was her most ardent supporter, never missing an opportunity to encourage his daughter in combat sports. His passing helped her understand the immense difficulty someone like UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov faced after losing his father, Abdulmanap, who was his primary influence in life and fighting.
“When you lose someone that close, someone so involved in your fight camp… my dad took me to my very first training session when I was 10 years old. He took me to my first fight,” she shared. “He was there for the rest of my career. We traveled the world together, and he had huge dreams for me as a fighter.”
“For the European tournament, he had already booked his flights and hotel for the final because that`s how certain he was that I would make it. I honestly didn`t think I would be able to come back mentally and compete without him.”
Caught between the profound grief of losing her father and nearly losing her own life, Luxton initially put fighting behind her. However, once she regained physical strength, she returned to the gym primarily as a way to rehabilitate and rebuild her health.
Over time, Luxton gradually increased her training intensity and began feeling like her former self again. Whether coincidence or a sign, it wasn`t long after she started considering a return to her career that she received an unexpected call.
“I was still having hospital checkups through November, following the operation and sepsis,” Luxton explained. “It was in November that they gave me the all-clear, saying, `You`re fully healthy now.` That was the point where training became more than just recreational. Knowing I was completely healthy, hitting the pads, regaining my speed and cardio, I felt really good about myself.”
“It was right at the start of this year that I decided I wanted to fight again. My friends and family suggested taking more time, maybe a few more months, but I told them honestly, hand on heart, I felt ready to go right then. About a week later, we received a fight offer.”
Getting the call from the PFL brought Luxton a feeling that was the exact opposite of the despair she`d experienced a year earlier during her personal tragedies and health emergencies.
“That`s how I interpret it, that the universe wasn`t pushing me down, but trying to bring me back up,” Luxton reflected. “I hadn`t had much communication with PFL over the Christmas and New Year period, so it was quite random when they called asking, `Do you want to fight?` I embraced the opportunity completely.”
She approached training with fierce determination, acutely aware of how close everything was to being taken from her before she had a chance to fully begin. Now, as she prepares for her debut at PFL Belfast on Saturday, Luxton is fighting for something more than just herself.
“I was pushed all the way to the brink of retirement, and I brought myself back into this fight,” she stated. “I`m grabbing it with both hands because this is what I was created to do. I`m not a singer. I`m not a dancer. I`m a fighter, and that`s who I am going to be.”
“I want that world championship belt around my waist. I`m doing this for my father`s legacy now. Everyone who knew my dad knows he was quite the `cheapskate` about ticket prices,” she joked. “He would complain, `They keep going up and up!` Now people say he has the best seat in the house for free. That thought stays with me. Once I get in there, I know I`ll be able to hear him shouting instructions on what I should be doing. That is what will drive me to the top.”
While her entire focus is back on competing, Luxton deeply appreciates the opportunity to do so again. The trials of the past year have given her a profound new perspective on life, and it`s a story she is willing to share with the world.
“Honestly, my life in 2024 could have been a movie,” Luxton concluded. “I truly hope that as soon as I become a world champion, I get those producers on the phone! I want Margot Robbie to play me. So she better start training.”