Evan Tanner

From FightWiki

Jump to: navigation, search

A memorial will be held in Amarillo, TX on September 27th at 2:00 p.m. at the Civic Center. The Civic Center is located at 401 South Buchanan Street.

Image:Et-top-0012.jpg

Image:For_FightWiki-Tanner.jpg NameEvan Tanner
AssociationTeam Tanner
Weight ClassMW
Height6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight185 lb (84 kg)
Birth Date11/02/1971
Died08/09/2008
CountryUSA
http://www.evantanner.net/Evans Pictures

Contents

Evan Tanner

Evan Tanner was born Febuary 11th 1971 in Amarillo, Texas. A former Texas State Wrestling Champion Evan moved into the world of Mixed Martial Arts in 1997 to fight in the USWF 4: Unified Shoot Wrestling Federation 4 competition. On this night he fought 3 times not only winning all his fights, but submitting all his opponents.

His next outing after the success of his prior fights he competed in a Heavyweight title match at USWF 7: Unified Shoot Wrestling Federation 7 where he faced Heath Herring. A fight he won as Herring could not continue with the fight due to exhaution. The referee stopping the fight before round 2 could start.[1]He defended this Heavyweight title a total of 7 times.

His evolution as a MMA fighter continued to grow over the next 12 months and in 1998 he became the first American fighter to win the Pancrase Tournament wheh he defeated Justin McCully by way of kimura after just 5 minutes of the fight.

The UFC would become Evans' next port of call and he made his debut on 8th January 1999 at the UFC 18: Road To The Heavyweight Title show, competing against Darrel Gholar he won in 8 minutes of the opening round via a Rear Naked Choke. Over the next 9 years Evan went on to compete in a total of 17 shows and became the Middleweight Champion on 5th February 2005 when he defeated David Terrell with a TKO win, at the time the title was vacant and Tanner became the first Middleweight Champion since 2002 with the win.


Learning MMA

Evan, after wrestling, found a tape. A tape that would lead to a change in his life. The tape in question was a Grapling instructional by the famous Gracie Family.

Soon after this and 3 UFC events to his name he began training with Team Quest. Evan began to pick up on many other styles of fighting. With fighters like Randy Couture, Dan Henderson and Matt Lindland traing there he would quickly learn the art of Greco Roman Wrestling. With this stable of fighter in the midst on a daily basis Evan would soon pick up on Boxing and other striking designed aspects of Martial Arts.

Moving Upwards

With his 24 MMA fights and now 3 in the coverted Octagon. The UFC felt it time to enter Tanner in a Championship bout, against 1 time champion Tito Ortiz at UFC 30: Battle On The Boardwalk. Sadly for Evan this would mark his 3rd loss in 26 pro MMA fights as he became a highlight reel KO. With Tito picking him up from the clinch position and slamming him to the mat. At which point Titos' head forced Evans' to hit the mat with such force that he was instantly knocked out.[2]

Professional Record

The former-UFC Middleweight Champion Evan Tanner.
The former-UFC Middleweight Champion Evan Tanner.
Record32 - 8 - 0 (Win-Loss-Draw)
Wins7 (T)KOs
20 Submissions
3 Decisions
2 Other
Losses6 T)KOs
1 Submissions

Image:Et-top-0012.jpg

Fight Stats

Result Opponent Method Event Title Date Round Time Video
Loss Kendall Grove Decision (split) The Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale 6/21/2008 3 5:00 x
Loss Yushin Okami KO (Knee) UFC 82: Pride of a Champion 3/1/2008 2 3:00 [3]
Win Justin Levens Submision (Triangle Choke) UFC 59: Reality Check 4/15/2006 1 3:14 x
Loss David Loiseau TKO (Cuts) UFC Fight Night 2 10/3/2005 2 4:15 x
Loss Rich Franklin TKO (Doctor Stoppage) UFC 53: Heavy Hitters 6/4/2005 4 3:25 x
Win David Terrell TKO (Strikes) UFC 51: Super Saturday 2/5/2005 1 4:35 x
Winx Robbie Lawler Submission (Triangle Choke) UFC 50: The War of 04 10/22/2004 1 2:22 x
Win Phil Baroni Decision (Unanimous) UFC 48: Payback 6/19/2004 3 5:00 x
Win Phil Baroni TKO (Strikes) UFC 45: Revolution 11/21/2003 1 4:42 x
Loss Rich Franklin TKO (Strikes) UFC 42: Sudden Impact 4/25/2003 1 2:40 [4]
Win Shannon Ritch Submission (Triangle Choke) FCFF: Fighting Against Cancer 2/15/2003 1 N/A x
Win Chris Haseman Decision (Unanimous) UFC 38: Brawl at the Hall 7/13/2002 5 5:00 x
Win Elvis Sinosic TKO (Cut) UFC 36: Worlds Collide 3/22/2002 1 2:06 x
Win Homer Moore Submission (Armbar) UFC 34: High Voltage 11/2/2001 2 0:55 x
Loss Tito Ortiz KO (Slam) UFC 30: Battle On The Boardwalk 2/23/2001 1 0:32 x
Win Lance Gibson TKO (Strikes) UFC 29: Defense of the Belts 12/16/2000 1 4:48 x
Win Travis Fulton Submission (Triangle Choke) USWF 18: Unified Shoot Wrestling Federation 18 11/25/2000 1 4:31 x
Win Raoul Romero N/A USWF 17: Unified Shoot Wrestling Federation 17 7/17/2000 N/A N/A x
Win Vinny Nixon Submission (Keylock) USWF 14: Unified Shoot Wrestling Federation 14 4/24/1999 1 1:07 x
Loss Leon Dijk TKO (Knees) Pancrase: Breakthrough 4 4/18/1999 1 11:39 [5]
Win Mike Cizek Submission (Strikes) USWF 13: Unified Shoot Wrestling Federation 13 3/20/1999 1 2:06 x
Win Valeri Ignatov TKO (Elbows) UFC 19: Ultimate Young Guns 3/5/1999 1 2:58 x
Win Darrel Gholar Submission (Rear Naked Choke) UFC 18: Road to the Heavyweight Title 1/8/1999 1 7:57 x
Win Ryushi Yanagisawa Submission (Arm Triangle Choke) Pancrase: Advance 12 12/19/1998 1 2:24 [6]
Win Gene Lydick Submission (Rear Naked Choke) USWF 12 - Unified Shoot Wrestling Federation 12 10/24/1998 1 4:15 x
Win Kiuma Kunioku Decision (Lost Points) Pancrase: 1998 Anniversary Show 9/14/1998 1 20:00 x
Win Justin McCully Technical Submission (Kimura) Pancrase: 1998 Neo-Blood Tournament Second Round 7/26/1998 1 5:07 [7]
Win Kousei Kubota Submission (Arm Triangle Choke) Pancrase: 1998 Neo-Blood Tournament Opening Round 7/7/1998 1 2:23 x
Win Ikuhisa Minowa Submission (Arm Triangle Choke) Pancrase: 1998 Neo-Blood Tournament Opening Round 7/7/1998 1 4:05 [8]
Win Tony Castillo TKO USWF 9: Unified Shoot Wrestling Federation 9 6/20/1998 1 4:06 x
Win Dennis Reed Submission (Triangle Choke) Gladiators: Gladiators 2 4/18/1998 1 1:20 x
Win Wade Kroeze TKO Gladiators: Gladiators 2 4/18/1998 1 1:00 x
Win Rusty Totty Submission (Arm Triangle Choke) USWF 8: Unified Shoot Wrestling Federation 8 3/28/1998 1 1:36 x
Loss Heath Herring Submission Rear Naked Choke PSDA 11/22/1997 1 8:20 x
Win Joe Frailey Submission (Strikes) PSDA 11/22/1997 1 0:56 x
Win Jesse Gonzalez Submission (Choke) PSDA 11/22/1997 1 1:15 x
Win Heath Herring Verbal Submission (Exhaustion)-Quit USWF 7: Unified Shoot Wrestling Federation 7 10/18/1997 1 6:19 [9]
Win Mike Kennedy Submission (Type Unknown) USWF 4: Unified Shoot Wrestling Federation 4 4/12/1997 1 1:29 x
Win Gary Nabors Submission (Keylock) USWF 4: Unified Shoot Wrestling Federation 4 4/12/1997 1 2:21 x
Win Paul Buentello Submission (Rear Naked Choke) USWF 4: Unified Shoot Wrestling Federation 4 4/12/1997 1 2:20 [10][11]

Death

On the 3rd Sept 2008 Evan had sent a text message to a friend stating he had run out of gas whilst riding on his bike and was walking back to his base camp.

Two days later on Friday 5th Sept Evan Tanner was reported missing after not replying to messages and not answering his phone.

He had tried to walk the 5 mile hike from where his bike had ran out of gas, drinking all his water along the way. Sadly on Monday 8th Septmeber 2008 Evan was found dead 2 miles from his camp, where he had another bike fueled and ready along with gallons of water. He will be missed dearly not just among the MMA comunity but by mear mortals alone. His visions of a better world and his gentlemanly conduct will stand above his many outstanding and influential qualities. The world will miss Evan Tanner, his dreams and legacy will live on for all of eternity. RIP Evan Tanner.

In the Third-to-last entry posted on his Spike-TV blog on August 27, Tanner wrote..

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. I've been writing about it a little bit here. 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.

I do plan on going back pretty far, so I did mention in one of my posts that I wanted to make sure to have good quality gear. Any failure of gear out in the desert could cause a problem.


Tanner had recently purchased a dirt bike, and on September 3 he rode into the desert-like region north of Brawley, California to go camping. According to Tanner's manager John Hayner, Tanner called that afternoon to say that his bike had run out of gas, and that he would accordingly walk back to civilization. According to the marine search and rescue team who found his body, he was in the desert camping and while trying to return to his camp after hiking to Clapp Springs, he succumbed to elements after he drank all of his water while hiking to anticipated wet springs, only to find them dry. He waited until nightfall, after calling friends, to attempt a quest back to his campsite where he still had water and a fully fueled motorcycle. Evan succumbed to the exposure of the elements. He was found 2 miles from his camp after having hiked 5 miles away. Temperatures that day reached 118 degrees Fahrenheit, and friends became concerned and reported Tanner missing after he failed to contact them. His body was discovered by a Marine helicopter on September 8, and the Imperial County sheriff's office cited heat exposure as a preliminary cause of death.

Evan's Last Fight

This is the location where Evan was found. He was spotted by a helicopter pilot from Marine Corps Air Station Yuma.

Image:Evans_Last_Fight.jpg

Joe Rogan

"He would write with painful honesty and admirable vision about every aspect of his journey through this life, and when I would read his words I would always get food for thought. Sometimes when I write, it’s like I’m reaching out to an old friend without a name or a face. I think of it as some new form of non-physical intimacy...."

"Reading Evan Tanner’s blog has on many occasions inspired me into that conclusion. His blog was a porthole into the window of his soul, and reading his brave, uncensored thoughts gave me an invigorated sense of purpose to do the same. Evan’s take on life was like that of a character in an adventure novel, and his thirst for experience was actually what lead him into fighting in the first place."

"I can remember the first time I watched him fight, when I read that he learned his techniques from a video tape and was self trained. I thought that it takes a really unusual person to enter into the toughest sport in the world that way. He took that unusual energy and channeled it to become the UFC middleweight champion of the world. He was that, and more."

The above entry was taken from Evan Tanner's RIP Homepage.

Joe Rogan's Blog

Funeral Arrangements

Funeral services for Evan Tanner will be held on September 27 for former UFC Middleweight Evan Tanner who passed away last week due to heat exhaustion in the Palo Verde mountains. A E-mail sent by Kyria of Team Tanner confirmed the date and where the late great pioneer of MMA will be paid his final respects.

Here is the email sent to Fightlinker :

I spoke with Evan’s family today and they have finalized Evan’s memorial. His memorial will be held in Amarillo, TX on September 27th at 2:00 p.m. at the Civic Center. The Civic Center is located at 401 South Buchanan Street.

If anyone wishes to send flowers or cards, they can be sent to Jeff Tanner, 504 S Harrison Street, Amarillo TX 79101. The family has also set up a memorial fund with The Amarillo National Bank. If you are interested in donating to his memorial fund, please email me for details.

I have received so many emails about purchasing a shirt, beanie, etc. I do not know Evan’s family’s plan for Team Tanner so I do not have the information you are looking for. The family has a lot to absorb and also needs time to mourn the loss of Evan so please respect that. If and when they decide to move ahead with shirts, etc, I have kept all of the emails and someone will be able contact them with the details.

Again our condolences go out to the Tanner family for their loss. May Evan Tanner Rest In Peace Image

External Links

The Real Fight

The real fight in Evans' life or War as he termed it as, was his battle with alcohol. A battle he so honourable won on Oct 10th 2007. Click the title to read more..

A place for words

A part of the Profile set up for people to offer words of support and condolances. Click the title to add your personal comment..

The World in Evans words

Evan on many occasions wrote, he wrote of life and love, of Fortune and Misfortune, of Victory and of Defeat. His words will stand out as one of his most endearing qualities.. Click the title to get the full picture, Evan Tanner style..

Believe

To find out the meaning of the term 'Believe' click the title.

The Adventures of Evan the Explorer

Ever the free spirit, Evan felt that the world offered more than he knew and took every step in finding out exactly what he and the rest of us was missing. Click the title to see pictures and blog exerts from Evans travels..

Image:RIP_Evan2_800x495.jpg

Personal tools