When Sammy-Jo Luxton thought that getting her car broken into at the start of 2024 was the worst thing that would happen to her that year, it could not have been further from the truth. Among the highs of knocking an opponent out inside 18 seconds and signing a contract with the PFL, she suffered the loss of both her grandmother and father. The 26-year-old then discovered she needed emergency surgery for cysts on her ovaries, which later led to sepsis - a life-threatening reaction to an infection in the body, external - following complications with the operation.

The Ordeal

The ordeal caused Luxton to contemplate retirement. But now, having taken some time to heal with her loved ones, she looks back on 2024 as the making of her character and relishes the challenges ahead with renewed vigour.

"It's taught me that I can come through anything. It was just me getting hit and I was standing up and then getting hit again and I was standing back up," Luxton tells BBC Sport. "I looked at it like a fight – if someone knocks me down eight times I'm going to get back up nine. Now I'm going to bring that into a fight. Nothing can touch me mentally or physically now because I've been through that."

Early Career

The Devon-born Luxton took up Thai boxing around the age of 10. After briefly switching to boxing, she later moved to Manchester and into the world of MMA, in which she now trains full-time. After winning the first two fights of her professional career - with her most recent victory in March, 2024 - Luxton signed a contract with the PFL.

Personal Loss and Health Crisis

But her debut fight in June never happened. The chain of events which led to the bout getting cancelled started when her father Adam was rushed to hospital after suffering a heart attack. With Luxton needing an emergency operation at the same time, she ended up in a hospital bed in the ward below him. After surgery, she was able to spend two days with her father before he passed away in April - two months after her grandmother's death.

"When my dad passed away I thought I was going to do this PFL tournament then hang up my gloves - I can't go on now," recalls Luxton. "But he would be rolling in his grave if I didn't carry on. He spent hours following me everywhere, he's prepped my meals, helped me cut weight - he would have done all of that for nothing. I am going to do it now for his legacy."

Recovery and Return

When Luxton returned to training, she found herself feeling more tired than usual but put the fatigue down to being in a "tough fight camp". Inside two weeks, however, Luxton's condition had deteriorated and she found herself bent over in pain at the gym while cold, sweating and shaking uncontrollably. Luxton's partner covered her in blankets before taking her to hospital where, after discovering she had sepsis, her body temperature rose to 42C in a "life or death situation".

"My body completely shut down, everything was a blur by that point," she says. "That completely wiped my year out so it was about trying to build my strength up slowly but surely afterwards. I took that as spending time with my friends and family and getting myself better, mentally and physically."

PFL Debut and Future Goals

Now fit and healthy, Luxton is preparing to finally make her debut in the PFL's annual European tournament. In an all-British fight, she faces Scottish flyweight Gemma Auld in Belfast on Saturday.

"It's been a long time coming but I can't thank PFL enough for hanging on to me and supporting me through the hard times," adds Luxton. "It will be pure excitement from start to finish. My last two fights haven't even hit 30 seconds – so I'm hoping the girls in PFL will give me more of a fight."

Luxton, nicknamed the 'Ghetto Cinderella', doesn't have to look far to see what riches can be found in PFL Europe. In 2023, Manchester's Dakota Ditcheva, 26, won the tournament before progressing to the global bracket last year and triumphing to become Britain's first female MMA world champion.

"Me and Dakota grew up together and fought on the same shows," says Luxton. "Dakota has set the path. You've seen the money she can make, she's set her family up for life now and that's what I want to do - give back and give my family a good life. Hopefully I can do a Dakota run."