MMA Fighter Shoots Man Dead in Arizona, Claims Self-Defense

Knowing self-defense is an important and valuable skill. It can be helpful to know how to defend yourself from a threat, which can often be unexpected. Luckily for mixed martial artists, it is a skill that becomes second nature. However, for one former MMA fighter, a different type of self-defense was needed as Shannon Ritch shot a 32-year-old man who was threatening him with a knife over a parking spot dispute in Phoenix, Arizona. The perpetrator later died from his injuries. 

This past Saturday, Pheonix police responded to reports of a shooting in a parking lot near 31st Avenue in north Pheonix around 9:20 p.m. Once police arrived on the scene, they found a 32-year-old man named Alejandro Samplina, who had just been shot by 53-year-old former MMA fighter Shannon Ritch. The two men were found in the parking lot of a popular Phoenix bar called Twin Peaks. Ritch claimed to police that the shooting was in self-defense, stating that Samplina threatened Ritch at knifepoint after an argument over a parking space. Ritch stated that Samplina approached him with the knife in a threatening manner, in which Ritch then grabbed his firearm out of the vehicle and fired one round into Samplina. 

Police confirmed that Samplina was rushed to a nearby hospital but was declared dead shortly after. As for Ritch, Pheonix police released the former MMA fighter after his self-defense story lined up consistently with surveillance footage of the incident. Authorities stated that Ritch gave his statement and that the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office will review any further charges that may be filed. 

Ritch is better known as “Shannon the Canon”, where he fought in MMA as well as bare-knuckle boxing. Ritch also served as a stuntman in a few Hollywood films. According to ESPN, Ritch’s last professional fight was in 2019. Ritch holds the title as the Middleweight Champion for the King of the Cage tournament.