Evan Lloyd Tanner (February 11, 1971 – September 5, 2008) was an American professional

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

fighter. He was a former UFC Middleweight Champion and was the first American to win the

Pancrase Pancrase Inc. is a mixed martial arts promotion company founded in Japan in 1993 by professional wrestlers Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki. The name was based on pankration, a fighting sport in the Ancient Olympic Games. Suzuki and Funaki pr ...

Neo-Blood tournament in Tokyo, Japan. Tanner won the

UFC Middleweight Championship Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...

at ''

UFC 51 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MM ...

'', stopping David Terrell with strikes in the first round. He is considered a pioneer in the sport of

MMA Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on strike (attack), striking, grappling and ground f ...

and one of the first fighters to use

elbows The elbow is the region between the arm and the forearm that surrounds the elbow joint. The elbow includes prominent landmarks such as the olecranon, the cubital fossa (also called the chelidon, or the elbow pit), and the lateral and the media ...

as an effective striking method in the ground and pound position. Tanner is considered to be somewhat of an anomaly in MMA as he began his professional career with a large degree of success despite primarily learning the sport via instructional

videotape Videotape is magnetic tape used for storing video and usually sound in addition. Information stored can be in the form of either an analog or digital signal. Videotape is used in both video tape recorders (VTRs) and, more commonly, videocassett ...

. He was also one of the first MMA fighters to use

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

as a platform to connect with fans. Tanner earned notable career victories over former

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

Welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...

Champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, an ...

Robbie Lawler Robert Lawler (born March 20, 1982) is an American professional mixed martial artist who has been competing since 2001. He is the former UFC Welterweight Champion, former EliteXC Middleweight Champion, and has formerly competed in Strikeforce, ...

, former King of

Middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have be ...

and

Champion

Kiuma Kunioku is a Japanese mixed martial artist currently fighting at Welterweight. A longtime veteran of the Pancrase organization, Kunioku captured the King of Pancrase Middleweight Championship and King of Pancrase Welterweight Championship before leavin ...

Heath Herring Heath Herring (born March 2, 1978) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Heavyweight division of Rizin. While perhaps best known for competing in PRIDE, he has also formerly competed for the UFC and K-1. ...

Paul Buentello Paul Anthony Buentello (born January 16, 1974) is an American former mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 1997, Buentello competed in the UFC, Bellator, Strikeforce, Affliction, King of the Cage, Shark Fights, ACB, Legacy FC, a ...

Phil Baroni Philip George Baroni (April 16, 1976) is a retired American mixed martial artist, professional wrestler and former kickboxer. A professional MMA competitor since 2000, Baroni has competed for the UFC, PRIDE, Strikeforce, Cage Rage, DREAM, Elit ...

(x2) and

Ikuhisa Minowa is a Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler currently competing in IGF as . A professional MMA competitor since 1996, he was a longtime veteran of PRIDE and Pancrase and has also competed in other mixed martial arts promotions s ...

, among others.

Background

Tanner was born in

Amarillo, Texas Amarillo ( ; Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County. It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A portion of the city extends into Randall County ...

, and graduated in 1989 from Caprock High School, where he won the Texas state championship in

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

as a junior and senior despite only entering the sport in his second year of high school. He attended

Simpson College Simpson College is a private Methodist liberal arts college in Indianola, Iowa. It is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and has about 1,250 full-time and 300 part-time students. In addition to the Indianola residential campus, Simpso ...

in Iowa, but dropped out when he was 19. He worked various jobs around the country as a bouncer, cable television contractor, framer building beach houses, dishwasher, baker, ditch digger, and slaughterhouse worker. He attended the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...

for one semester before returning to Amarillo, where he entered a mixed martial arts tournament. During his UFC career, Tanner lived in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

and

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

. In 2008, he relocated to

Oceanside, California Oceanside is a city on the South Coast (California), South Coast of California, located in San Diego County, California, San Diego County. The city had a population of 167,086 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. The city is a popular ...

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Tanner, with a wrestling background, began fighting in 1997 when he was convinced by friends to enter a local MMA tournament hosted by the now defunct Unified Shoot Wrestling Federation. He won the tournament by defeating three fighters in one night, including future UFC heavyweight contender

. After his initial success, Tanner taught himself submission and

grappling Grappling, in hand-to-hand combat, describes sports that consist of gripping or seizing the opponent. Grappling is used at close range to gain a physical advantage over an opponent, either by imposing a position or causing injury. Grappling i ...

techniques using instructional videos created by the famous

Gracie family The Gracie Family () are a prominent martial arts family originally from Belém, state of Pará, Brazil whose ancestors came from Paisley, Scotland. They are known for creating the self-defense martial arts system of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, also kn ...

. He continued to fight in local shows and tournaments in Texas and Iowa before traveling to Japan to compete in the Pancrase organization. He won five fights overseas and competed in the USWF once more before being asked to join the UFC. Tanner made his UFC debut in 1999 at ''

UFC 18 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

'', submitting fellow Amarillo native Darrell Gholar by

rear naked choke The rear naked choke (RNC) is a chokehold in martial arts applied from an opponent's back. The word "naked" in this context suggests that, unlike other strangulation techniques found in jujutsu/judo, this hold does not require the use of a keikogi ...

in the first round. His next UFC fight was at '' UFC 19'' against Valerie Ignatov, who was known for leg submissions. Because of this, Tanner decided to fight barefoot for the first time in his career. Tanner fought once more in Pancrase and defended his title two more times in the USWF before deciding to take the first of multiple breaks from fighting in his career. He returned in July 2000 and remained undefeated in the USWF, successfully defending his heavyweight belt with wins against Raoul Romero and Vinny Nixon. His next appearance was at ''

UFC 29 ''UFC 29: Defense of the Belts'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on December 16, 2000 at Differ Ariake Arena in Kōtō ward, Tokyo, Japan. History The event was the last UFC to be held in Japan until th ...

'', where he defeated

Lance Gibson Lance "Fearless" Gibson (born November 20, 1970 in Toronto, Ontario) is a retired Canadians, Canadian mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. Having formally competed in the Middleweight (MMA), Middleweight division. He is widely considered t ...

by TKO.

A new outlook on fighting

With three victories in the UFC, Tanner received a title shot against

UFC light heavyweight champion Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...

Tito Ortiz Jacob Christopher "Tito" Ortiz (; born January 23, 1975) is an American mixed martial artist and politician. He is currently signed to the Combate Americas promotion. Ortiz is best known for his stints with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UF ...

at ''

UFC 30 ''UFC 30: Battle on the Boardwalk'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City in Atlantic City, New Jersey on February 23, 2001. UFC 30 was the first UFC event under th ...

''. He was knocked unconscious 32 seconds into the first round by a high level slam by Ortiz. Tanner was invited to compete in the −88 kg division at the 2001

ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship The ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship, is an international submission wrestling, submission grappling competition, organised by the Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC). The inaugural tournament was held in Abu Dhabi, UAE in 1998. It has been ...

April 11–13, 2001 at the Abu Dhabi Combat Club in

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...

, United Arab Emirates. He was defeated by

Sanae Kikuta is a Japanese mixed martial artist currently competing in the Welterweight division. A professional competitor since 1996, he has competed for the UFC, PRIDE Fighting Championships, Pancrase, DREAM, World Victory Road, DEEP, Shooto, and ...

on points (6–0) in the first round. Tanner began training with

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

-based

Team Quest Team Quest is a mixed martial arts training camp founded by Randy Couture and Dan Henderson with facilities located in Gresham, Oregon; Murrieta, California; Encinitas, California; Redding, California; Hemet, California; and Chiang Mai, Thailand. ...

. He returned to the Octagon at ''

UFC 34 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor (company), Endeavor Group Holdings. It ...

'', defeating

Homer Moore Homer Moore (born November 12, 1971) is an American former professional mixed martial artist who competed as a Light Heavyweight for the UFC, WEC, and Chicago Red Bears of the IFL Background Moore won the 1992 National Junior College Athletic ...

in the second round with an

armbar An armlock in grappling is a single or double joint lock that hyperextends, hyperflexes or hyperrotates the elbow joint or shoulder joint. An armlock that hyper-extends the arm is known as an armbar, and it includes the traditional armbar, pr ...

. At ''

UFC 36 ''UFC 36: Worlds Collide'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on March 22, 2002. The event was seen live on pay per view in the United States, and later released on ...

,'' he defeated

Elvis Sinosic Elvis Sinosic (born 13 February 1971) is a retired Australian professional mixed martial artist and unsuccessful Political Candidate for United Australia in Blaxland. Sinosic is perhaps best known for his seven-fight stint in the Ultimate F ...

by TKO (cut). At ''

UFC 38 ''UFC 38: Brawl at the Hall'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship. It took place at the Royal Albert Hall in London, United Kingdom, on July 13, 2002. The event was seen live on pay-per-view in the United Sta ...

,'' he won a unanimous decision over

Chris Haseman Chris Haseman (born 2 June 1969 in Brisbane, Queensland) is an Australian mixed martial artist. Haseman is currently signed with Fighting Network RINGS and is a longtime veteran of the promotion (1995–2012). Regarded as a pioneer of MM ...

in an undercard bout. At ''

UFC 42 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MM ...

,'' he lost to Rich Franklin by TKO (strikes) in the first round. After his defeat by Franklin, Tanner moved to the middleweight division, where he would be more physically imposing than many of the opponents.

Baroni I and II

Tanner faced

in consecutive fights at ''

UFC 45 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

'' and ''

UFC 48 ''UFC 48: Payback'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on June 19, 2004, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event was broadcast live on pay-per-view in the United States, and was late ...

.'' In the early minutes of their fight at UFC 45, Baroni was in control, but Tanner took Baroni to the ground and landed a series of unanswered punches and elbows. After a brief verbal exchange between Baroni and referee Larry Landless, the fight was stopped and Tanner was awarded the victory. Immediately after the fight, Baroni contended that he did not submit and in the confusion struck Landless twice in the face. Baroni maintained that it was a verbal miscommunication and he never asked for the fight to be stopped. To quell the controversy, the UFC agreed to give Baroni a rematch at

, which Tanner won.

Road to the UFC Middleweight title

Tanner defeated

at ''

UFC 50 ''UFC 50: The War of '04'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on October 22, 2004, at the Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The event was broadcast live on pay-per-view in the United States, and la ...

'' in October 2004, submitting Lawler with a triangle choke. Afterward, Tanner began training on his own. He fought for the vacant UFC middleweight championship against David Terrell at ''

'' in February 2005. He defeated Terrell to become the first UFC middleweight champion since

Murilo Bustamante Murilo Bustamante (; born 30 July 1966, in Rio de Janeiro) is a retired Brazilian mixed martial artist and former UFC Middleweight Champion. He is one of the founders of the ''Brazilian Top Team'' and is the current leader. In addition to compe ...

held the title before leaving for

PRIDE Fighting Championships PRIDE Fighting Championships (Pride or Pride FC, founded as KRS-Pride) was a Japanese mixed martial arts promotion company. Its inaugural event was held at the Tokyo Dome on October 11, 1997. Pride held more than sixty mixed martial arts even ...

in 2002. Tanner fought Franklin again at ''

UFC 53 ''UFC 53: Heavy Hitters'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on June 4, 2005, at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The event was broadcast live on pay-per-view in the United States, and later ...

'' in June 2005. Franklin won when the fight was stopped by the ringside doctor due to multiple cuts and swelling on Tanner's face. With the win, Franklin was named as a coach for ''

The Ultimate Fighter 2 ''The Ultimate Fighter 2'' was the second season of the mixed martial arts reality television series ''The Ultimate Fighter''. The season featured a heavyweight and a welterweight division, with 9 fighters initially in each division. The UFC coa ...

'' reality television show, along with then

champion Matt Hughes. While Franklin and Hughes did not fight at the conclusion of the show, Hughes said he would have challenged Tanner for the UFC middleweight title if Tanner had been a coach on the show. After losing the title, Tanner began training with

American Top Team American Top Team (ATT) is one of the primary teams in mixed martial arts. The gym was founded by Dan Lambert, who brought in former members of Brazilian Top Team Marcus "Conan" Silveira, Marcelo Silveira and Ricardo Liborio, but there is no fo ...

, but lost his next fight to

David Loiseau David Loiseau (; born December 17, 1979) is a Canadian former mixed martial artist from Montreal, Quebec. He has fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, EliteXC, and TKO Major League MMA veteran. He is the former TKO World Middleweight Ch ...

Ultimate Fight Night 2 ''Ultimate Fight Night 2'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on October 3, 2005. The event took place at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, and was broadcast live on Spike TV in the United ...

in October 2005. Tanner was ahead on points until the fight was stopped in the second round due to a cut received from a Loiseau elbow. Shortly after this fight, Tanner appeared as himself on an episode of ''

Beyond the Glory ''Beyond the Glory'' is a documentary series that profiles some of the most legendary and controversial athletes in recent history. Executive produced by Steve Michaels and Frank Sinton and narrated by Jay Mohr Jon Ferguson "Jay" Mohr (born Augu ...

'' on ''

FOX Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the Fo ...

'' that chronicled the history of the

. He also became a member of the Chute Boxe team. Tanner returned to the UFC in April 2006 at ''

UFC 59 ''UFC 59: Reality Check'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on April 15, 2006 at the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, California, and broadcast live on pay-per-view in the United States and Canada. This was th ...

'', defeating

Justin Levens Justin Robert Levens (April 18, 1980 – December 17, 2008) was an American mixed martial artist. A professional competitor from 2004 until 2007, he competed for the UFC, the WEC, the Palace Fighting Championship, and for the Southern Califo ...

in what was Tanner's last victory in MMA. Levens was a late replacement for

Jeremy Horn Jeremy Graham Horn (born August 25, 1975) is an American mixed martial artist. Horn is best known for fighting in smaller American promotions, he has also competed in some of the premiere mixed martial arts organizations around the world, inclu ...

, who was forced to withdraw after a training injury.

2006–08

On December 29, 2006, Tanner unveiled plans to set up a mixed martial arts training camp at his house in

Gresham, Oregon Gresham ( ) is a city located in Multnomah County, Oregon, in the United States of America, immediately east of Portland, Oregon. It is considered a suburb within the Greater Portland Metropolitan area. Though it began as a settlement in the mid- ...

for disadvantaged athletes and young men at risk. In February 2007, he announced that 12 athletes would reside in the house from six different weight classes. In a March 2007 interview with MMA Weekly, Tanner was asked about the possibility of fighting again, but said he wanted to focus on developing his foundation. He said he would be training year-round with the athletes he was coaching and that it might only be a matter of time before he returned. UFC president

Dana White Dana Frederick White Jr. (born July 28, 1969) is an American businessman who serves as president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a global mixed martial arts organization. In August 2019, White's net worth was estimated at $500 milli ...

was interviewed by

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

Sportsline one week later and said Tanner would be welcomed back whenever he was ready. On May 11, 2007, further foundation development was put on hold by Tanner, citing his own training and a bad experience with the first fighter that was invited to the house. Tanner announced through his official website that he would return to active competition and attempt to regain the UFC middleweight title. Speculation arose that Tanner would return to the UFC in December 2007 at

UFC 79 ''UFC 79: Nemesis'' was a mixed martial arts (MMA) event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), that took place on December 29, 2007, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background The main events featured the fight ...

against

Dean Lister Dean Richard Lister (born February 13, 1976) is a retired American mixed martial artist. A professional from 2000 until 2015, he fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, PRIDE Fighting Championships, and California-based promotion King of t ...

. Tanner dismissed the report as he was battling an alcohol addiction. He left Chute Boxe and began training at Hard Knocks Kickboxing in Las Vegas. On November 8, 2007, Tanner announced the signing of a four-fight deal with the UFC. He chose to accept no corporate sponsorships and instead started "Team Tanner," an exclusive fan club for his upcoming fights. His first fight back in the UFC was at

UFC 82 ''UFC 82: Pride of a Champion'' was a mixed martial arts (MMA) event that took place on March 1, 2008, at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Background The main event was a UFC & Pride FC middleweight title unification match between UFC mid ...

, where he lost to Japanese fighter

Yushin Okami is a Japanese mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 2002, Okami has competed for the UFC, PRIDE, Pancrase, M-1 Global, World Series of Fighting, DEEP, Professional Fighters League, and ONE Championship. Mixed martial arts caree ...

by knockout in the second round. In what would be his final fight, Tanner lost to

Kendall Grove Kendall Grove (born November 12, 1982) is an American mixed martial artist who is currently signed to Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2003, he has also competed for the Bellator MMA, UFC, KSW, ProElite, King ...

in a split decision at The Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale on June 21, 2008, the fifth loss in his last ten fights. In a post-match interview, he said he felt "flat" throughout the fight and that he had begun wondering if his two years of serious

alcohol abuse Alcohol abuse encompasses a spectrum of unhealthy alcohol drinking behaviors, ranging from binge drinking to alcohol dependence, in extreme cases resulting in health problems for individuals and large scale social problems such as alcohol-relat ...

had damaged his body past the point of which he could compete at the level he once had.Tanner, Evan.

, Spike.com, published August 16, 2008.

Death

In the summer of 2008, Tanner announced plans for a solo trip to the Imperial County, California desert. After concerns were raised, he responded on August 27, 2008. "It seems some MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) 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 San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

. 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.'" He purchased a

dirt bike The six main types of motorcycles are generally recognized as ''standard'', ''cruiser'', ''touring'', ''sports'', ''off-road'', and ''dual-purpose''. ''Sport touring'' is sometimes recognized as a seventh category or integrated with the ''touring' ...

and on September 3, 2008, rode into the desert region west of

Palo Verde, California Palo Verde ( Spanish for "Green Stick"; Mojave: ''Hanyomalivah'') is a census-designated place (CDP) in Imperial County, California. Its name comes from the native desert tree, Palo Verde (Parkinsonia florida), which in turn takes its name from ...

to go camping.Baker, Debbie.
Body in desert ID'd as UFC ex-champ Tanner
", The San Diego Union-Tribune, published September 10, 2008. According to his manager, John Hayner, Tanner called that afternoon to say that his bike had run out of gas and that he would walk back to his camp. This conflicted with a later report that his bike was found at his camp. He reportedly intended to refill his water bottles at Clapp Spring before heading back to his campsite, but was unaware that the spring was usually dry. Temperatures that day reached 118 °F (48 °C), but in a text message to a friend, he said he thought he could make it back to his camp if he traveled during the later hours of the evening. He told friends to contact authorities if they did not hear from him by the following morning. When friends did not hear from him the next morning, they reported Tanner missing and a search was begun. His body was discovered near Clapp Spring with empty water bottles by a

Marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

helicopter on September 8, 2008. The Imperial County coroner determined the time of death to be between late September 4 and early September 5, but the legal date of death was recorded as September 8, 2008. According to a military article, Tanner's motorcycle was at his camp and within his provisions were ample supplies of water. The Imperial County sheriff's office gave an official cause of death as heat exposure.

Aftermath

celebration of life ''Celebration of Life'' is a one-hour English play written and directed by Sachin Gupta Sachin Gupta (born 9 March 1978) is an Indian film producer, writer and director. He produces films under Chilsag Motion Pictures and is also an artis ...

service was held in Amarillo, Texas on September 27. An informal gathering was held at a friend's house in Oceanside and attended by Tanner's sister and close friends. At dusk, a candlelight vigil was held. The UFC honored Tanner during the

Spike TV Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Media Networks. The network's headquarters are located at the Paramount Pictures studio lot in Los Angeles. The channel was o ...

broadcast of UFC Fight Night: Diaz vs. Neer on September 17, 2008. Pancrase paid tribute to Tanner with a special ceremony during their 15th Anniversary Show on October 1, 2008.

Shark Fights Shark Fights was a mixed martial arts promotion based in Amarillo, Texas. It made its debut on October 24, 2008. On September 11, 2010 Shark Fights had its biggest card in Shark Fights history by having UFC veterans Jorge Masvidal, Keith Jardin ...

also honored Tanner during their inaugural event at the

Amarillo National Center The Amarillo National Center is a 10,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Amarillo, Texas. It was built in 2000. Along with the Amarillo Civic Center, it hosts local concerts and sporting events for the Amarillo area. The arena contains 5,000 permanen ...

on October 24, 2008. The 2008

World MMA Awards The World MMA Awards are awards presented by ''Fighters Only'' magazine to honor exceptional performance in various aspects of mixed martial arts. Winners are presented with the ''Fighters Only silver statuette''. The World MMA Awards are divided ...

show on December 31, 2008, in Las Vegas was dedicated to Tanner's memory. A documentary about Tanner's life, travels and philosophy, "Once I Was A Champion," was directed by Gerard Roxburgh and premiered in competition at the 2011

Los Angeles Film Festival The LA Film Festival was an annual film festival that was held in Los Angeles, California, and usually took place in June. It showcased independent, international, feature, documentary and short films, as well as web series, music videos, episod ...

as an official selection. It was nominated for "Best Documentary Feature

The film was also an official selection at the 2011 Dallas Video Festival and the inaugural Arclight Documentary Film Festival in November 2011. It won the "Best Documentary Audience Award" at the 2011

Bel Air Film Festival The Bel Air International Film Festival, first held in 2008, is an annual international film festival which takes place in Bel Air and the greater Los Angeles area. The festival honors films in the following categories: Film Fashion, Documentari ...

. In March 2014, English film director and producer Bobby Razak released a documentary about Tanner titled "1" which looked at the circumstances surrounding Tanner's death. On June 19, 2019,

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

reported that a biopic about Tanner's life and career titled "The Power of 1" was in the works, slated to go into pre-production at the end of 2019 with principal photography planned for early 2020.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed Martial Arts

* Pancrase Hybrid Wrestling ** 1998

Neo Blood Tournament Winner ** First non-Japanese fighter to win the

Neo Blood Tournament ** First American to win the

Neo Blood Tournament ** Second oldest fighter to win the

Neo Blood Tournament ** First and only fighter to win the

Neo Blood Tournament and a

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

** Fourth fighter to win the

Neo Blood Tournament ** First non- King of Pancrase titleholder to win a

** Sixth

fighter to win a

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

(One time) ** Fight of the Night (twice) ** Submission of the Night (once) ** Fourth highest significant strike percentage in

history (minimum 10 UFC bouts) ** Third fighter to win the

** First fighter to win a vacant

** First and only fighter from the state of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

to win a

** First and only fighter from the state of

to win the

** Fought for

UFC Light Heavyweight Championship Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...

(

) ** First

Light Heavyweight Title Challenger to win the

** Second

Light Heavyweight Title Challenger to win a

** Ranked as #1 contender in

Light Heavyweight and Middleweight divisions ** Headlined three

events (

, UFC Ultimate Fight Night 2, The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rampage vs. Team Forrest Finale) ** Featured in four

video games (Ultimate Fighting Championship (video game), UFC: Throwdown, UFC: Tapout 2, UFC 2009 Undisputed) **

Coaching Finalist * Unified Shoot Wrestling Federation ** USWF Heavyweight Championship (One time) ** Seven successful title defenses ** First and only USWF Heavyweight Champion ** Undefeated in USWF (11–0) ** Headlined seven USWF events ** Won single night, eight-man heavyweight tournament (USWF 4) ** Served as President of USWF (February 2000 through April 2003) * Extreme Challenge ** Won single night, four-man heavyweight tournament (Gladiators 2) *MMA Hall of Fame
MMA Hall of Fame Class of 2007
*MMA Freak
MMA Freak Hall of Fame Class of 2015
*MMA World Rankings
MMA World Rankings Hall of Fame Class of 2008
*Five Ounces of Pain
Making the case for Evan Tanner to be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame
* Sherdog
MMA's Greats of the States , Texas

Imagining an MMA Hall of Fame: Borderline Candidates

The Top 10 Stories of the 2000s , #8: The Death of Evan Tanner

Sherdog's Top 10 UFC Middleweight Title Fights , Honorable Mention: Evan Tanner vs. David Terrell (UFC 51)

Sherdog's Top 10 UFC Middleweight Title Fights , Honorable Mention: Evan Tanner vs. Rich Franklin (UFC 53)

Sherdog's Top 10 UFC Light Heavyweight Title Fights , Honorable Mention: Tito Ortiz vs. Evan Tanner (UFC 30)

Sherdog's Top 10 Middleweights of All-Time , Honorable Mention: Evan Tanner

Sherdog.com 2005 Upset of the Year Nominee: Evan Tanner def. David Terrell
* ESPN
A look at 100 memorable UFC fights , #41: Evan Tanner vs. David Terrell

A look at 100 memorable UFC fights , #44: Rich Franklin vs. Evan Tanner

A look at 100 memorable UFC fights , #58: Tito Ortiz vs. Evan Tanner
* Yahoo Sports
UFC's 20 greatest fighters a mix of old and new , #18: Evan Tanner
* * Wrestling Observer Newsletter
1998 Rookie of the Year Nominee

1998 Shooter of the Year Nominee
* Fight Matrix
All-Time MMA Rankings , #22 (Middleweight): Evan Tanner

Amateur Wrestling

* Texas University Interscholastic League ** 1988 UIL State Champion (167 lbs) ** 1989 UIL State Champion (167 lbs)

Submission Grappling

* ADCC ** Competed in the −88 kg division at the 2001

Mixed martial arts record

, Loss , align=center, 32–8 ,

, Decision (split) , The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rampage vs. Team Forrest Finale , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 32–7 ,

, KO (knee) ,

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:00 , Columbus, Ohio, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 32–6 ,

, Submission (triangle choke) ,

: Reality Check , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:14 , Anaheim, California, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 31–6 ,

, TKO (doctor stoppage) , UFC Ultimate Fight Night 2 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:15 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 31–5 , Rich Franklin , TKO (doctor stoppage) ,

, , align=center, 4 , align=center, 3:25 , Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 31–4 , David Terrell , TKO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:35 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 30–4 ,

, Submission (triangle choke) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:22 , Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 29–4 ,

, Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 28–4 ,

, TKO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:42 , Uncasville, Connecticut, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 27–4 , Rich Franklin , TKO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:40 , Miami, Florida, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 27–3 , Shannon Ritch , Submission (triangle choke) , FCFF-Fighting Against Cancer , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:19 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 26–3 ,

, Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , London, England , , - , Win , align=center, 25–3 ,

, TKO (doctor stoppage) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:06 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 24–3 ,

, Submission (armbar) ,

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:55 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 23–3 ,

, KO (slam) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:30 , East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 23–2 ,

, TKO (punches and elbows) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:48 , Tokyo, Japan, Tokyo, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 22–2 , Travis Fulton , Submission (triangle choke) , Unified Shoot Wrestling Federation 18 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:38 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 21–2 , Raoul Romero , TKO (punches) , Unified Shoot Wrestling Federation 17 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 6:59 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 20–2 , Vinny Nixon , Submission (keylock) , Unified Shoot Wrestling Federation 14 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:07 , Lubbock, Texas, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 19–2 , Leon Dijk , TKO (knees and palm strikes) , 1999 in Pancrase#Pancrase – Breakthrough 4, Pancrase: Breakthrough 4 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 11:39 , Yokohama, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 19–1 , Mike Cizek , TKO (submission to punches) , Unified Shoot Wrestling Federation 13 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:06 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 18–1 , Valeri Ignatov , TKO (elbows) , UFC 19 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:58 , Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 17–1 , Darrel Gholar , Submission (rear-naked choke) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 7:57 , New Orleans, Louisiana, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 16–1 , Ryushi Yanagisawa , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , 1998 in Pancrase#Pancrase – Advance 12, Pancrase: Advance 12 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:24 , Chiba, Chiba, Chiba, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 15–1 , Gene Lydick , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Unified Shoot Wrestling Federation 12 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:15 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 14–1 ,

, Decision (lost points) , 1998 in Pancrase#Pancrase – 1998 Anniversary Show, Pancrase: 1998 Anniversary Show , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 20:00 , Tokyo, Japan, Tokyo, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 13–1 , Justin McCully , Technical Submission (kimura) , 1998 in Pancrase#Pancrase – 1998 Neo-Blood Tournament Second Round, Pancrase: 1998 Neo-Blood Tournament Second Round , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 5:07 , Tokyo, Japan, Tokyo, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 12–1 , Kousei Kubota , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , rowspan=2, 1998 in Pancrase#Pancrase – 1998 Neo-Blood Tournament Opening Round, Pancrase: 1998 Neo-Blood Tournament Opening Round , rowspan=2, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:23 , rowspan=2, Tokyo, Japan, Tokyo, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 11–1 ,

, Submission (arm-triangle choke) , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:05 , , - , Win , align=center, 10–1 , Tony Castillo , TKO (knees) , Unified Shoot Wrestling Federation 9 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:06 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–1 , Dennis Reed , Submission (triangle choke) , rowspan=2, Gladiators 2 , rowspan=2, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:20 , rowspan=2, Iowa (U.S. state), Iowa, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–1 , Wade Kroeze , TKO (knees) , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:00 , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , Rusty Totty , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , Unified Shoot Wrestling Federation 8 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:36 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 6–1 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , rowspan=3, PSDA , rowspan=3, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 8:20 , rowspan=3, Texas (U.S. state), Texas, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Jesse Gonzalez , Submission (ezekiel choke) , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:15 , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Joe Frailey , TKO (submission to punches) , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:56 , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 ,

, TKO (exhaustion) , Unified Shoot Wrestling Federation 7 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 6:19 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , rowspan=3, Unified Shoot Wrestling Federation 4 , rowspan=3, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:20 , rowspan=3,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Gary Nabors , Submission (keylock) , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:21 , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Mike Kennedy , TKO (submission to palm strikes) , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:29 ,

References

Evan Tanner's myspace page
myspace.com. Retrieved on November 28, 2006.
Evan Tanner's fight record courtesy of Sherdog
Sherdog.com. Retrieved on November 28, 2006.

MMAforum.com. Retrieved on November 28, 2006.
Evan Tanner Interview 6/30/06
MMA365. Retrieved on November 28, 2006.
UFC Fighter Page
UFC.com. Retrieved November 28, 2006.
Evan Tanner Fighter Profile
Ultimate-fighter.ca. Retrieved on November 28, 2006.
Evan Tanner Interview
ufighting.com. Retrieved on November 28, 2006.
Team Quest: As Iron Sharpens Iron
Boxing Insider. Retrieved on December 3, 2006.
Postal Connections: The Reason Evan Tanner Left Team Quest
Real Fight Gear. Retrieved on December 3, 2006.
Evan Tanner Post-UFC 59 Video Interview
Sherdog. Retrieved on December 3, 2006.
Sherdog.com Preview: UFC 59 "Reality Check" Part I
Sherdog. Retrieved on December 3, 2006.
Tanner Pays Dues to Rake in Profits
Sherdog. Retrieved on December 3, 2006.
From Common Competitor to Middleweight Monarch
Sherdog. Retrieved on December 3, 2006. * Jeff Cain
Breaking The Silence
MMA Weekly. Retrieved on December 3, 2006. * Marc Wicker

Knuckle Pit. Retrieved on December 18, 2006. * Marc Wicker

Knuckle Pit. Retrieved on December 18, 2006. * Marc Wicker

Knuckle Pit. Retrieved on December 18, 2006. * Mick Hammon
Evan Tanner Returns With A New Vision
MMA Weekly. Retrieved on March 18, 2007. * Sam Capla
Five Ounces of Pain
CBS Sportsline. Retrieved on March 18, 2007.

Kenny and Ozone Show. Retrieved on November 8, 2007.

External links

Official Site

Official Blog

MySpace

Obituary

Official site of documentary on Tanner's life
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tanner, Evan Accidental deaths in California American male mixed martial artists Middleweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Sportspeople from Amarillo, Texas Sportspeople from Gresham, Oregon American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Ultimate Fighting Championship champions American male sport wrestlers Amateur wrestlers Deaths from hyperthermia 1971 births 2008 deaths