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“I had done it right in the corner and Josh was like, ‘Do not tap, Soc, there’s three seconds,’” said Weaver. “After the fight, Josh found me at the after party and he said, ‘If you ever want to come to Miami and train, hit me up. There’s great fighters out there, people who can fight and people who’ve got a good story, but you’ve got that ‘it’ factor. You could be the next big thing.’
Weaver appreciated the kind words but brushed off the invitation. That big win over Pierre turned into a 1-3 stretch over the next year, and he needed a change and some direction.
“Partying and stuff got me,” he admits. “I had a couple losses, just wasn’t focused anymore and was kind of burned out on it. Dean Toole, one of the fight promoters and my best friend in the game, like a big bro to me, he said hit Josh up. See if he’s still got that opening.”
About three months away from getting evicted, Weaver got Samman’s number and gave him a call.
“I’ve got an extra room in my house right now that’s come available,” Samman said. “Move down here, I’ll find you a job and you can train with me every day.”
The Jackson native packed his bags and left for what he expected to be a two-month trip. He ended up staying a lot longer than that, gaining not just a training partner, but a friend, one who wasn’t just trying to make his own way in the UFC, but also trying to cope with the death of his girlfriend in a car accident in 2013.
One of the ways he did was through writing, with his memoir, The Housekeeper: Love, Death, and Prizefighting, gaining critical acclaim upon its release in 2016. But he was also chronicling the story of Weaver and his tribe, the MOWA Choctaw Indians, a process that was cathartic for the budding prizefighter.