PFL prospect Sammy Jo Luxton can’t forget the moment she thought she was dead.
Luxton was to prepare for her promotional debut after signing with the PFL following a ferocious 18-second head kick-kick-out in March 2024. Instead, she was initially diagnosed with cancer and had to undergo emergency surgery. It turns out to be the least of her medical problems.
If that wasn’t enough, this was all going on while Luxton dealt with the harsh reality that his father was dying after a massive heart attack.
“My grandma passed away from blue. Six weeks later, my dad had a heart attack and was put in a induced coma,” Luxton told MMA Fighting. “I sat at my bedside with him. I needed emergency surgery while I was at my bedside. So I was in my ward under my dad, so the hospital basically had to put me in a wheelchair and pilot me into his ward, so I could be there when he died.
“Six weeks later, I was looking forward to returning to training and taking part in the PFL European Tournament. Little was known to me. I had been infected through my body from the surgery, which caused me sepsis.”
Sepsis is a life-threatening condition that occurs when the body responds inappropriately to an infection. When Luxton first began to feel the effects of a fatal potential, she thought her body was worn out of the taxable training camp, where she prepared for the fight. She quickly discovered that her situation was far more miserable.
“I didn’t understand that. I thought only my body was coming to the end of the fight camp,” Luxton revealed. “I just hurt, I was tired and didn’t do much. I started shaking on the mat and then started grabbing me. I rushed to the hospital where my (temperature) was 42 (107 degrees Fahrenheit).
Under these extreme conditions due to high fever and sepsis, Luxton was at risk of severe organ damage or even breakdowns. She is rushed to the hospital for treatment, and the British-born fighter always remembers what one of the nurses says as she struggles to survive.
“I got sepsis so I couldn’t walk or talk, which was scary,” Luxton said. “I had an apprentice nurse working in my ward and I started to feel ache in my chest, they laid me flat and got a defibrillator.
“I can’t even explain my emotions, but my whole body has loosened as my whole body is thinking, ‘I’m going to die.’ Was it just that my family lost me after going through that year? That’s awful. ”
Thankfully, the doctor was able to reduce her fever and control her sepsis, but that meant that Luxton would live to see another day.
As much as she loved MMA, the now 26-year-old athlete effectively admitted that between her father’s tragic loss and the ordeal she faced with her own health, her dream of becoming a champion had disappeared.
“I was going to come out of it, and I thought the universe said I wasn’t going to fight anymore,” Luxton said. “It was a universe where you can stop in there entirely, like it wasn’t for me.”
It was not so important that she was still grieving the loss of her father, which was such a singular force throughout her life, especially in her combat career.
Luxton’s father was her biggest supporter and never missed the opportunity to cheer on her daughter when she pursued a career in combat sports. Losing him made Luxton understand why UFC Hall of Fame Khabib Nurmagomedov struggled to move forward after losing his father Abdulmanap and losing his greatest impact in life and battle.
“When I lost someone close to you, someone close to your fight camp, my dad took me to my first training session when I was 10. He took me to my first fight,” Luxton said. “He was there for the rest of my career. We traveled the world together and he dreamed big for me as a fighter.
“So when the European tournament came on, he was sure he would make it, so he booked the flights and hotels for the finals.
Between losing her father and then losing her own life, Luxton fought behind her. But once she could go back to the gym, she hoped to at least use it as a conduit and rebuild it into perfect health again.
Over time, Luxton began to add a little more to her plate and she began to feel like her old self again. Calling it a sign or just a strange coincidence, it wasn’t so much that it happened after Luxton decided that she could resume her career after receiving an unexpected call.
“I was still in and out of hospitals until November, but after physical checkups, operations, post-sepsis ablation,” Luxton said. “It was in November that they said, ‘You’re completely healthy right now.’ That’s the point I’m trained and it was just knowing I’m completely healthy, I was regaining my speed and I felt good about myself.
“It was the start of the year when I said I wanted to fight. My friends and family were like taking your time. If you need a few more months, I’ll do that, but honestly, I’ve taken my hand in my heart, I’m ready to go now.
Having received a call from the PFL, Luxton saddened the loss of her father and gave her the almost opposite feelings she had a year ago while dealing with her own serious health crisis.
“That’s what I’m twisting it from space is that I’m bringing me into space. “I didn’t have much contact with the PFL during the Christmas and New Year period, so it was very random that they called, ‘Do you want to fight?” I took it with both hands. ”
She attacked the training with a whole new ferocity, as everything was almost stolen from her before she had the opportunity to start. Now, as she prepares for her debut at PFL Belfast on Saturday, Luxton is fighting for more than she does.
“I was pushed all the way to the point of retirement and I’m back in this fight, and that’s what I did, so I’m grabbing it with both hands,” Luxton said. “I’m not a singer. I’m not a dancer. I’m a fighter, so that’s what I’m trying to do.
“I want that world championship around my waist. I’m doing it for my (my father’s) legacy now. Everyone who knows my father, he hated paying the ticket price because he was a decent cheap skate. To get me to the top.”
Her full focus is back to the fight, but Luxton never takes for granted how lucky he is to have the ability to do this again. The challenges of the past year have given Luxton a new perspective on life. It’s a story she doesn’t mind sharing with the world.
“To be honest, my life in 2024 could have been a film. As soon as I become a world champion, I’ll get those producers on the phone!” Luxton said. “I want Margot Robbie (to play me), so it’s best to start training.”