In Memoriam: MMA Veteran Evan Tanner Dies At Age 37
September 9, 2008 at 3:23 pm by Jason Hatcher in NewsIt is truly a sad day within the mixed-martial-arts community as news spreads that MMA veteran and UFC fighter Evan Tanner has been found dead by sheriff’s deputies in the Palo Verde mountain area of California. The cause of Tanner’s death is not yet known. According to friends of Tanner, he’d taken a trip into the desert mountains on the Arizona border where temperatures regularly reach 115 degrees and had not been heard from since September 3.
The photograph and epitaph below was taken from Evan Tanner’s official website.
Evan Tanner’s mixed-martial-arts career stretches back deep into 1997 when he defeated fellow Texan and current UFC heavyweight Heath Herring at Unified Shoot Wrestling Federation 7, as well as former UFC legend Paul Buentello at USWF 4. Tanner claimed to have learned mixed-martial-arts from instructional videos and entered the UFC in 1999. Tanner defeated Darrel Gholar by submission at UFC 18.
Tanner continued fighting for USWF as well as Pancrase before finally getting a title shot against Tito Ortiz at UFC 30. Tanner lost to Ortiz but then went for a seven-win streak before dropping to middleweight and claiming the vacant UFC middleweight title by defeating David Terrell in 2005. Tanner only held the belt for one fight before losing to Rich Franklin at UFC 53.
After his loss to Franklin, Tanner went on an extended break from fighting where he began authoring a popular blog that revealed the most intimate details of his personal life. Tanner had previous battles with alcohol but got back into shape in 2007 for a return to the UFC cage. He lost two straight fights to Yushin Okami and Kendall Grove.
In a recent blog post for Spike.com, Tanner revealed plans to his fans that he was going to take a spiritual journey into the California desert.
“I’ve been gathering my gear for this adventure for over a month, not a long time by most standards, but far too long for my impatient nature. I plan on going so deep into the desert that any failure of my equipment could cost me my life.”
Full Contact Talk extends our deepest condolences to all of Evan Tanner’s family, friends and fans. He was a true warrior and one of the rare fighters to maintain an exciting fight career through the dark ages of MMA into the present day.
Evan Tanner’s official website: evantanner.net
A perspective from the Ultimate Fighting Championship : ufc.com
Additional Information from SPIKE TV and Tanner’s Blog: spike.com
Below are images of Evan Tanner fighting Yushin Okami at UFC 82. Photographs by Josh Hedges. All photos Copyright Zuffa, LLC. For editorial use only.
September 9th, 2008 at 10:42 pm
A truly tragic loss. Thank you for writing about him.
September 9th, 2008 at 10:42 pm
So sad, I just can’t believe it! RIP Evan, we love you.
September 9th, 2008 at 11:03 pm
Such an amazing individual, inspirational and adventurous. My heart goes out to everyone close to him, as well as anyone touched by his presence in the MMA and this world.
The highest and most beautiful things in life are not to be heard about, nor read about, nor seen but, if one will, are to be lived. ~Soren Kierkegaard
Evan Tanner LIVED.
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