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Evan Tanner Found Dead

  • 09-09-2008 02:06AM
    #1
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,594 ✭✭✭


    MMA thread or not?

    I say "possibly", but it's not looking good

    He went riding in the California desert last week and was reported missing on Friday. On Sunday his motorbike was found near a campsite and today a body was found near that. It hasn't been confirmed as being Evan, but like I said, it doesn't sound too good

    Reports here:
    http://www.tmz.com/2008/09/08/ufc-fighter-missing-body-found/
    http://mmamania.com/2008/09/08/evan-tanner-dies-in-the-desert-seriously/

    I really hope that it's a false alarm or something, because Evan was the first MMA fighter who I really took a liking to. It was sort of sad watching him in his last fight but it seemed like he was doing well outside the cage, getting his life back together

    EDIT: MMAJunkie.com are reporting it as confirmed :(

    RIP


«1

Comments

  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,594 ✭✭✭Fozzy


    UFC.com article on him: http://www.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=news.detail&gid=14429
    Evan Tanner 1971-2008
    By Thomas Gerbasi

    “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.

    Leave it to me as I find a way to be
    Consider me a satellite, forever orbiting
    I knew all the rules, but the rules did not know me
    Guaranteed
    ---Eddie Vedder, “Guaranteed”. The song playing on Evan Tanner’s myspace page.

    Rest in Peace, Evan.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,045 ✭✭✭Vince135792003


    RIP Evan Tanner.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 78 ✭✭Skull


    A very special and interesting man. A great loss.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 20,759 ✭✭✭✭dlofnep


    Oh man, Evan had a shakey last few years. He came across as a great guy. A tragic loss for MMA. Can't believe he's dead. :(


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,803 ✭✭✭dunkamania


    RIP


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 28,128 ✭✭✭✭Mossy Monk


    RIP


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 661 ✭✭✭Charlie3dan


    A great loss to MMA. RIP


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,856 ✭✭✭Clover


    RIP


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,020 ✭✭✭mirwillbeback


    My original favourite fighter, he taught himself his early skills from a book. And boy could he put on a triangle choke. Never got to meet him when I went to see UFC 50 as he seemed to shy away from the meet and greets. He had his demons over the last few years.
    Tragic. RIP.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 830 ✭✭✭Judomad


    sad loss, will be missed in MMA


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 40 ckarsenal


    RIP


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,032 ✭✭✭dave80


    RIP


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,969 ✭✭✭hardCopy


    Sad, RIP


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 227 ✭✭mmaireland.com


    RIP.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 13,497 ✭✭✭✭Dragan


    That's just depressing. One of my favourite fighters and characters in MMA.

    RIP


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 69 ✭✭burtyburr


    Thats a downer. I was only just checking out pics of him training with Forrest before the Rampage fight.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 13,528 ✭✭✭✭Frank Bullitt


    Terrible stuff.

    R.I.P


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,424 ✭✭✭fatal


    He was certainly one of the stand out guys of MMA,whether it was because of his fighting or his personality

    RIP Tanner-a true warrior


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 291 ✭✭bing3


    Man that sucks. In a sport full of overbearing personalities Evan always stood out with his free-spirited and intelligent manner. A real gentleman of the game.
    RIP


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,923 ✭✭✭Nothingcompares


    RIP Evan Tanner


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,857 ✭✭✭Valmont


    His quirky underdog style made me a huge fan, especially when he battered Dave Terrell. RIP


  • Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 23,089 ✭✭✭✭rovert


    Very interesting character worthy of a book or a film.

    RIP


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 237 ✭✭stevemc01


    Whether he won or lost Tanner always brought the fight and didnt back down. RIP


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 863 ✭✭✭bjj-fighter


    Damn that sucks.Evan Tanner was always a great figure in MMA


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,729 ✭✭✭Pride Fighter


    RIP


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 161 ✭✭RNCFAN


    That's just terrible news man :(

    Tanner was the ****ing Man.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,870 ✭✭✭mikeruurds


    RIP Evan. I really enjoyed watching him fight.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,594 ✭✭✭Fozzy


    The preliminary reports from the coroner say that he died of heat exposure, two miles from his campsite where he had run out of water and petrol. The temperature was over 44 degrees celsius in that area at the weekend. There's conflicting reports as to whether he was 50 or 100 miles from the nearest town, although I guess at that sort of distance it doesn't make much difference

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/09/AR2008090901590.html

    I'd been keeping up with his blog on Spike.com every couple of weeks or so, he was a very interesting guy and it was cool to see someone with the sort of outlook and attitude towards life that he had. It's all very sad


  • Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 23,089 ✭✭✭✭rovert


    FREE TODAY! Sept. 9 Wrestling Observer Radio: Evan Tanner, Raw, Flair trouble, more
    It's our twice-monthly FREE edition of Wrestling Observer Radio. Join Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer as they discuss the sad death of former UFC Champion Evan Tanner, another notable MMA name in poor health, the Ric Flair incident with his daughter that left him bloodied, Monday night's Raw, where they may be heading for the PPV, plus tons of mailbag questions including favorite and least favorite issues to write.
    http://media002.f4wonline.com/free/090908wo.mp3

    I thought I should post this Dave Meltzer talked about his life and death late last night at the top of this show and really somes up Evan's life. Genuinely good stuff.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,594 ✭✭✭Fozzy


    rovert wrote: »
    FREE TODAY! Sept. 9 Wrestling Observer Radio: Evan Tanner, Raw, Flair trouble, more
    It's our twice-monthly FREE edition of Wrestling Observer Radio. Join Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer as they discuss the sad death of former UFC Champion Evan Tanner, another notable MMA name in poor health, the Ric Flair incident with his daughter that left him bloodied, Monday night's Raw, where they may be heading for the PPV, plus tons of mailbag questions including favorite and least favorite issues to write.
    http://media002.f4wonline.com/free/090908wo.mp3

    I thought I should post this Dave Meltzer talked about his life and death late last night at the top of this show and really somes up Evan's life. Genuinely good stuff.

    Yeah, I listened to that earlier, it was a very good piece I thought


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