Evan Tanner....Passed away at age 37

[crash]

Former UFC middleweight champ Evan Tanner dead at 37
by Dann Stupp on Sep 08, 2008 at 9:04 pm ET

Evan Tanner, a former UFC middleweight champion and one of MMA's most popular fighters, was found dead in the Palo Verde mountain area of California today.




He was 37 years old.




A friend of Tanner's told MMAjunkie. com (www. mmajunkie. com) that authorities have recovered his body. Kyria McBrayer, who also assisted the popular fighter with his "Team Tanner" fan/sponsorship club, said she received the unfortunate news today.




Calls to the Imperial County Sheriff's Office were not immediately returned, but according to a report from the Imperial Valley Press, a campsite, which included Tanner's motorcycle, was recently discovered. A sheriff's deputy found Tanner's body when searching the mountain's Clapp Springs area, according to the report.




The cause and other details of Tanner's death were not immediately known.




His friends last heard from him this past Wednesday, Sept. 3. A search for Tanner began on Saturday, when temperatures in the area reached nearly 115 degrees.




The Palo Verde mountain area is located in southern California near the Arizona border.




Tanner (32-8 MMA, 12-5 UFC), a Texas native who won a state high school wrestling title in 1989, turned an MMA professional in 1997 and began his career with a stellar 19-1 record to earn his way into the UFC.




Tanner, who claimed he learned much of the sport from instructional tapes and DVDs, received his first UFC title shot in 2001 but suffered a quick first-round knockout to then-UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz. However, after going 7-1 in his next eight fights and dropping to the middleweight division, Tanner defeated David Terrell for the organization's vacant 185-pound title in February 2005.




His championship reign would be a short one, though; Rich Franklin defeated Tanner in his very next fight.




After the loss, Tanner fought twice more for the organization before taking a nearly two-year break from competition. During the time away, Tanner began work on a charity to provide a home, training and support system for disadvantaged athletes, but he ultimately scrapped the idea soon after the home opened. Also during the break, Tanner authored a popular blog on his official website that discussed everything from his travels to the restoration of a sail boat to his battle with alcohol addiction.




In November 2007, though, Tanner confirmed he had signed a new four-fight deal with the UFC and was returning to competition. Tanner shunned corporate sponsorships and instead implemented Team Tanner, which allowed fans to sponsor him directly. Fans were rewarded with gear, memorabilia and other items depending on the amount paid.




Tanner fought twice after signing the deal. He suffered a knockout loss to Yushin Okami in March, and in his most recent fight, he headlined The Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale against "TUF 3" winner Kendall Grove.


Tanner lost a close split decision at the June event, and MMAjunkie. com was later told he was trying to fight through injuries at the event.




Just prior to that most recent fight, Tanner became a blogger for Spike. com.


The popular online journal chronicled all aspects of his life. His final post was dated Sept. 2.




In an Aug. 16 entry, Tanner discussed his plans to camp out in a California desert as a sort of a spiritual journey. Many readers voiced concern that he expected only to bring the bare necessities.




"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," Tanner wrote. "Being a minimalist by nature, wanting to carry only the essentials, and being extremely particular, it has been a little difficult to find just the right equipment. I plan on going so deep into the desert that any failure of my equipment could cost me my life.


"

In his final post last week, he talked about training at the Compound MMA camp in Oceanside, Calif., and surfing at the local beach.




We'll have more on this story as information becomes available.




MMAjunkie. com sends it deepest and sincerest condolences to the family and fellow friends and fans of Evan Tanner.

[Luca Brasi]

R.I.P Evan you will be missed very much .

This was a extremely humble respectful fighter who always put on a good show for the fans . I remember Evan always being one of the fighters on a lot of charity shows as well where he fought for free for a good cause. A truely sad loss
Thanks for the info Crash ... shame it had to be such bad news.


Luca

[crash]

UFC Fighter Evan Tanner Found Dead :: ImpactWrestling.com

UFC Fighter Evan Tanner Found Dead


Reported By marcm0484
9/8/2008





- The following comes from UFC.com. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Evan Tanner's friends and family:

“I believe there are people out there that just have a warrior spirit, whether it’s fighting or something, they’ve got to do it. It’s hard to identify with me; it’s just something I do.”

---Evan Tanner, 2005

On what will unquestionably be remembered as one of mixed martial arts’ saddest days, former UFC middleweight champion Evan Tanner - beloved by fans for his fighting ability and by friends for his free spirit – has passed away at the age of 37.

Tanner, on a camping trip in the Palo Verde mountain area, was found by an Imperial County Sheriff’s Department Deputy on Monday. The cause of death is not known at this time. He had not answered friends’ text messages since last Wednesday, and was officially reported missing on Friday.

On his personal Spike TV web blog, Tanner discussed the trip and how a failure of equipment could be fatal, but in a subsequent blog, he downplayed such fears, writing, “It seems some MMA websites have reported on the story, posting up that I might die out in the desert, or that it might be my greatest opponent yet, etc. Come on guys. It's really common down in southern California to go out to the off road recreation areas in the desert about an hour away from LA and San Diego. So my plan is to go out to the desert, do some camping, ride the motorcycle, and shoot some guns. Sounds like a lot of fun to me. A lot of people do it. This isn't a version of "Into the Wild". I'm not going out into the desert with a pair of shorts and a bowie knife, to try to live off the land. I'm going fully geared up, and I'm planning on having some fun.”

His agent, John Hayner, says that Tanner was excited about the trip and in a good place physically and mentally before his untimely death.

“He was in a good state of mind the last time we spoke,” said Hayner. “Everyone that was around him, and even at the gym he was training at, also said he was in a great state of mind. Living in Oceanside (California), he really liked being on the beach. His house was across from the water, he was in beautiful surroundings.”

If one thing was ever clear about Tanner, it was that he loved life, the outdoors, and adventure.

“He was always planning on going on some sort of adventure,” said Hayner. “And he never needed the finer things or made a fuss about them. He just needed enough for gas, shelter, and training.”

A native of Amarillo, Texas, Tanner worked various jobs as a bouncer, a cable TV contractor, a framer building beach houses, a dishwasher, a baker, a ditch digger, and a slaughterhouse worker before stumbling on to mixed martial arts in 1997.

Over the next 11 years, fighting would be a major part of his life, to the tune of 42 professional bouts, but as he said earlier this year before what would be his final bout against Kendall Grove, he never considered himself a fighter.

“I always thought of myself as the poet, the writer, or the philosopher – I never thought of myself as a fighter,” he chuckled. “But here I am. I always had an idea of the flow of my life, but not exactly what I would be doing day to day. And fighting definitely wasn’t something I thought I’d be doing.”

But he was good at it – very good in fact. Over the course of his career, Tanner (34-8) scored wins over Paul Buentello, Heath Herring, Ikuhisa Minowa, Justin McCully, Elvis Sinosic, Phil Baroni (twice), and Robbie Lawler. His biggest win, however, came at UFC 51 on February 5, 2005, when he stopped David Terrell in the first round to win the UFC middleweight championship.

Tanner would lose the belt to Rich Franklin in his first defense four months later, but the fans never abandoned him, and he returned that admiration, both in person and through his internet blogs.

“I wanted to give something back to the fans and let them know that I’m just a regular guy,” said Tanner in early 2008. “Some of the guys forget that and get caught up in the lights, and I never want to forget that and that I’m one of the lucky ones that got a chance to get out there and do this. There are a lot of great athletes out there, a lot of great fighters that never got the chance. I’m one of the lucky ones that did, so writing the blog and telling life as it is helps me stay grounded and it gives me a way to connect with the fans and give them something back.”

His blogs were more than just fight talk and product advertisements though. Tanner spoke frankly about life and his struggles in and out of the Octagon. And when he made his return to the UFC in 2008 after almost two years away, it was a triumph of the human spirit and an inspiration, regardless of whose hand was raised at the end of the fight.

“My thought was that I’m in a position where I’ve done some things and some people look up to me a little bit and maybe something in my story can help inspire them or motivate them to get through some things or do something better,” said Tanner before his return against Yushin Okami at UFC 82 in March. “If that’s the case and it helps anybody else out, then it’s worth me facing the embarrassment.

He fell short in his final two bouts against Okami and Grove, but there was no keeping him down, and his off-time after the Grove bout was filled with more of his adventures, as well as participation in Harley-Davidson’s 105th anniversary celebration.

Sadly, there will be no more adventures, only memories of Evan Tanner.

“Evan was such a unique individual, and he was okay being an individual,” said Hayner. “He was okay with taking the path less traveled, and he often chose that harder path.”

It was simply who he was. Just read the words he spoke to me before I wished him luck for his fight against Grove in June.

“Everything’s been about the journey,” he said. “I never really set out with goals for fighting; it’s been about the adventure along the way. When you’re on your death bed, it’s those stories, those little adventures that are going to be the things that you remember. It’s not so much getting there, but how you got there.”

And he did it his way.

[MR. BMJ]

Wow, what a sad an unfortunate loss

RIP Evan.

BMJ

[Sylva]

Originally Posted by MR. BMJ

Wow, what a sad an unfortunate loss

RIP Evan.

BMJ

My sentiments exactly.

A body believed to be that of former UFC middleweight champion Evan Tanner was found Monday in the Palo Verde mountain area, the Imperial Valley Press has reported.

Calls to the Imperial Valley sheriff's department and coroner's office were not immediately returned.

Tanner, 37, had embarked on a camping trip some time around Sept. 2 into the desert-like region north of Brawley, Calif., approximately two and a half hours east of San Diego.

Sherdog.com has ascertained various unconfirmed reports that Tanner's body was identified Monday and that relatives have been notified. An autopsy is said to be scheduled for Tuesday.

Deana Epperson, who grew up across the street from Tanner and his family in his hometown of Amarillo, Texas, said she'd been told that the fighter had texted friends in Oceanside as late as Thursday, telling them that he'd run out of water and gas for his motorcycle. Authorities were then contacted to try and locate the fighter.

Tanner had last been connected to the Compound Mixed Martial Arts & Fitness gym in Oceanside, Calif. Co-owner Claudia Ortega said she and her husband had reached out to Tanner a year ago after he had visited the facility. In recent weeks, Tanner had moved back to the area and visited the gym on a few occasions to train.

Ortega said Tanner told her he planned to "take a couple of trips," then settle at the gym.

"He wanted to make it his home," said Ortega. ""We really wanted to see him succeed in any way he could."

Tanner was a self-made mixed martial arts standout. A two-time state championship wrestler in high school, he made his professional debut on a whim with the Unified Shoot Wrestling Federation in 1997 and defeated three opponents in one night -- including eventual UFC title challenger Paul Buentello -- in one night to win a heavyweight tournament. He would later defend the title against Pride Fighting Championships and UFC veteran Heath Herring, among others.

He enjoyed his greatest success in the UFC. Tanner won 10 of his first 12 fights with the promotion, losing only to Tito Ortiz and Rich Franklin. His UFC run was highlighted by his upset victory over David Terrell at UFC 51 in February 2005, as he stopped the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt on strikes to capture the middleweight championship. Tanner relinquished the 185-pound crown in his rematch with Franklin at UFC 53 four months later, as he absorbed a brutal beating after knocking down the popular Ohioan with a right hand in the first round.

Tanner, the first American to win the Pancrase Neo-Blood tournament in Japan, lost four of his last five fights. He made his final appearance inside the Octagon at "The Ultimate Fighter 7" Finale in June, as he dropped a split decision to Kendall Grove in Las Vegas.

Tanner had recently started his own blog in association with SpikeTV.com.

"I've been sitting around this apartment, bored to tears, waiting on the last of the gear I need for the desert adventure to come in the mail. I've really been looking forward to getting out there," wrote Tanner. "It seems some MMA websites have reported on the story, posting up that I might die out in the desert, or that it might be my greatest opponent yet, etc. Come on guys. This isn't a version of "Into the Wild". I'm not going out into the desert with a pair of shorts and a bowie knife, to try to live off the land. I'm going fully geared up, and I'm planning on having some fun."

[JayC]

I heard that first thing this morning.. I was in shock! Extremely disturbing and very sad. He will be missed.
RIP brother..

[Sylva]

RIP Evan Tanner - EvanTanner.Net

[cipherkingtoo]

they were talking about it yesturday on the mma forums. AT that time they wasnt sure it it was him.
man it is crazy, he was one of the guys that got me excited about UFC.

RIP Evan!!!!

[Biter]

Originally Posted by crash

A native of Amarillo, Texas, Tanner worked various jobs as a bouncer, a cable TV contractor, a framer building beach houses, a dishwasher, a baker, a ditch digger, and a slaughterhouse worker before stumbling on to mixed martial arts in 1997.

I knew his name was familiar. I met him years ago, as I grew up in Amarillo myself. I had no idea he was a fighter - I don't follow names in this business. This is so unfortunate - I remember him as a very cool person. He'll definitely be missed

[Bikercoz]

R.I.P warrrior, your spirit and inspiration lives on with your MMA brothers.

[buckshots]

r
i
p

[Polski Byk]

He will be missed, I loved watching him fight. He faught everyone.