Deep in the scorched hills of Imperial County, 10 miles from the nearest paved road, Evan Tanner parked his off-road motorcycle and set up camp. He unfolded a green cot and chair, set up a tarp for shade and took out sunscreen, a highlighter and a notebook.
Tanner, 37, was fit and tough. Six feet tall and 185 pounds, he was the 2005 middleweight champ for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, a brutal contest in which barefooted fighters pummel each other in chain-link cages.
Yet the Oceanside resident was no match for the desert. Soon after he arrived Sept. 3, during a week when temperatures hit 114 degrees, he began sending text messages to friends warning that he was running low on water. Rescuers found his body two miles from his camp Sept. 8. Read the rest of this entry »
I’m not really sure what instigated the whole event, but supposedly Krazy Horse was talking shit about the Chute Boxe team and Cristiano Marcello stepped up to confront him. I wish there was more of the video. Maybe someone knows the whole story and can post it as a comment here. Anyway, the video is awesome.
This is a short video the UFC put together as a tribute for Evan Tanner. Some UFC fighters (Eric Schafer, Ed Herman, Alan Belcher) say a few words about Evan.
On tonights episode, Fight Quest hosts Jimmy & Doug will travel to Thailand to learn about Muay Thai. Tune in to The Discovery Channel at 9pm EASTERN TIME to check out the show.
Spike TV has published a couple of previously unreleased blog entries written by Evan Tanner in the days before his death. His last blog says:
It’s Tuesday night. Tomorrow I go out into the desert. It has taken over a month to get all the gear together. The preparation for this adventure took far longer than I had expected. I’ve never done this before, so I took my time reading books, studying the land, and researching gear. A few weeks of solitude in the deep desert, and then back to civilization, and back to training.
Included in the blog entry are a few pictures of Evan working on getting his bike and other gear ready for the trip into the desert.
InTheGuard.tv is reporting that Anderson Silva was recently interviewed by Brazilian TV station SporTV and said he would retire next year. This comes as a surprise, but we do know he has expressed a lot of interest in squaring of with Roy Jones Jr. in a boxing match, and Dana White told him he wouldn’t allow it to happen. We also know Anderson Silva has said he wouldn’t fight his friend, Paulo Filho, the 185-lb champion of Zuffa-owned World Extreme Cagefighting.
Fat kid is talking trash at the beginning, saying something about “HB” on someones arm? I couldn’t really tell. Anyway, terrificly awesome video. Homeboys have on gloves, so I’m guessing this was a “meet me after school and I’ll kick your ass” kind of deal. Fat kid probably totes around MMA gloves just for cases like this.
TAPOUT FILMS BRINGS YOU THE LATEST EXCLUSIVE INTERNET RELEASE OF “PIT FIGHT REDUX” DIRECTED BY LEGENDARY MMA FILM MAKER BOBBY RAZAK. Starring Kevin Randleman, Mark Coleman, Seth Petruzelli and Siala-Mou “Mighty Mo” Siligia.
Houston Alexander tried some illegal-looking knees but was ultimately unsuccessful. He’s 37 years old and seems to run out of gas really quick, and obviously is helpless on the ground. Will he be back in the UFC? Props to Eric Schafer for dedicating his win to Evan Tanner. Props to Eric Schafer for taking those illegal knees to the face while he was down.
The UFC is definitely in partnership with or has purchased StrikeForce. With Dana White’s recent comments about StrikeForce having a good business model, and Cung Le in the audience at a UFC event recently, along with Joe Rogan mentioning Strikeforce tonight during the Clay Guida/Mac Danzig fight, the evidence is too strong.
Joe Rogan appears to be working on his Evan Tanner tribute beard. Props to him.
Clay Guida is a badass.
Josh Neer’s board shorts were cool. They were black with a chain link fence design that blended perfectly with the cage, creating a near optical illusion.
Nick Diaz got his name mentioned a few times by Goldberg and Rogan, further evidence of a UFC/Strikeforce partnership… or Nick will be back in the UFC soon.
After two highly successful years of broadcasting the best in Mixed Martial Arts from around the country on SunSports, FightZone TV has announced that starting on Sunday, October 5, 2008, their programming will be carried weekly on SportSouth, one of the largest sports networks in the country.
This will add Mississippi, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina and regions of central and western North Carolina with 39+ major cities including Atlanta, Nashville, Charlotte, Birmingham, Memphis, Charleston, Chattanooga, Savannah, Mobile, Biloxi-Gulfport and their surrounding areas.
SportSouth is broadcast to 9,000,000+ cable and satellite homes.
SunSports is aired to 6,000,000+ Florida homes and nationally on DIRECTV and The Dish Network (2,000,000+ FSN Sports Package subscribers).
This means FightZone TV will now be available weekly to over 18,000,000 homes/subscribers, which represents 20% of all the US homes with TVs.
SportSouth will air the entire FightZone Library with a different show each week, repeated 3 times – Sunday at 2:00 PM, Tuesday at 8:00 PM and Friday at 11:00 PM.
FightZone’s “Jay’s Brawl Call” will air weekly at 7:30 PM on Tuesday and 12:30 AM Saturday immediately following the Friday event broadcast.
SunSports will continue to air one new “FightZone Presents” Event and one new Jay Adams Brawl Call Show per month repeated 6-9 times.
FightZone’s Promoter Partners include Real Fighting Championships (RFC-Tampa, FL), Ultimate Warrior Championships (UWC – Washington, DC), Mainstream MMA (Iowa), Reality Combat Championships (RCC – Jacksonville), Gladiator Challenge (CA), Bonecrunch Fighting League, World Fighting Championships (WFC, Tampa, FL) Combat Fighting Championships (CFC – Orlando, FL) and newest partner Pro Battle (Springdale, AR, Wichita, KS; Dallas, TX; Paris, TX; Kansas City, MO; St. Louis, MO; Denver, CO; Birmingham, AL; Nashville, TN; Dekalb, IL, Louisville, KY; and Chicago, IL).
FightZone’s marketing resources include TV, Radio, Print Magazine and a 12,000+ email list to Fight related Fans, Fighters, promoters, Schools, Gyms, Retail Outlets and Media.
For extremely reasonable advertising packages that include TV, Radio, Print Magazine, Internet and a 12,000+ email list, please contact FightZoneMedia@aol.com
FightZone TV will be airing the “Best of RFC,” an exciting collection of their most memorable fights during September on SunSports. Also can be seen nationally on DIRECTV Channel 653 and The Dish Network Channel 422. Check your local listings for more times.
Memorial set for city fighter
Publication Date: 09/17/08
A memorial service has been scheduled for Evan Tanner, the 1989 Caprock High School graduate who went on to become a champion mixed martial-arts fighter.
“Celebration of Life” services are planned for 2 p.m. Sept. 27 at the Amarillo Civic Center auditorium.
Tanner was a native of Amarillo and most recently had lived in Oceanside, Calif.
Tanner, 37, was found dead Sept. 8 while on a camping trip in an isolated area of the Palo Verde Mountains in Southern California.
Authorities said his death was related to heat exposure, but an official cause of death is pending until authorities receive toxicology reports.
At Caprock, Tanner was a two-time state wrestling champion.
He began a career in professional fighting in 1997, won numerous U.S. Wrestling Federation heavyweight titles, was the first American to win the Neo Blood Pancrase tournament in Japan, and earned the middleweight title in 2005 while competing in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Correspondence may be sent to Tanner’s family at 504 S. Harrison St., Amarillo, TX 79101.
Awesome. I’ve often wondered what happened to Jason “Strange Brew” Thacker after he fought Chris Leben at the TUF Season One Finale show. I was actually hoping for Thacker to win that fight at the time, considering Leben had pissed on Thackers pillow. Props to Jason Thacker for showing much heart and requesting a fight with Chris Leben. Looks like Strange Brew has bulked up since the show.
I’ve heard arguments for both sides. There are those who think Evan Tanner should be in the UFC hall-of-fame, and those who don’t. I’ve heard the argument that “nobody was pushing for him to be in the hall-of-fame until he died.” Well, that’s because he just fought as recently as June, and wasn’t retired, or as old as the other hall-of-fame members. Evan’s death was unexpected, and most people probably thought they’d see him fight again, so that’s why nobody was mentioning the hall-of-fame prior to his death.
I definitely believe Evan Tanner should be inducted into the UFC hall-of-fame. The dude has a tremendous following online, and is arguably more “famous” than most other pro fighters. He was a UFC middleweight champion. He has more triangle choke victories than anybody else in the UFC. He has an 11-6 record in the UFC. Seventeen fights in the UFC is impressive. Hell, Mark Coleman and Dan Severn are in the hall-of-fame, and they deserve to be, but so does Evan Tanner. I think the only fighters with more wins right now in the UFC are Chuck Liddell (16), Matt Hughes (15), Tito Ortiz (14) and Randy Couture (13). Evan Tanner is in good company there.
So yeah, I say he deserves to be in the UFC Hall Of Fame. Why not?
September 13th at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa Fl – Salute Our Armed Forces 5, Mixed Martial Arts event “Return of the Giant“!
Go to www.mmaxfc.com for more info, buying tickets, and more.
For those unable to make the show, we are proud to bring you “XFC LIVE high-quality streaming video” so you can watch the event from
the comfort of your home – it’s one fight you sure don’t want to miss!
It’s a shame that I’ve never seen this video before. Evan Tanner wanted to spread his word and his ideas. I’m still in disbelief that he is gone. Of all the fighters in the world, he was one that seemed to attract hardcore fans more than any other.
Unbelievable. I don’t want to believe it’s true, but it seems it is. Evan Tanner’s body was found in the desert a few miles away from a deserted campsite where his motorcycle was also found. I’m speechless right now.
Mark The Date: RFC XIV “The Countdown” September 19th
What: RFC XIV “The Countdown”
When: Friday, September 19th
Where: A La Carte Pavilion, 4050 Dana Shores Dr., Tampa FL
Doors Open 7 PM, Fights Start at 8 PM
Real Fighting Championship’s (RFC) XIV “The Countdown” on Friday, Friday, September 19th, at the A La Carte Pavilion in Tampa, FL will continue their four year tradition of bringing their loyal fans another night of exciting, unparalleled professional Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) competition.
Yosmany “The Spartan” Cabezas (5-1) tries to keep his title contention hopes alive to face the winner of Greco vs. Babcock in RFC’s next event in November. In his way is Tony Sousa (4-2 from Jacksonville, FL who has been training eight weeks for this fight.
Eddie “The Hulk” Hernandez (3-0) steps up in competition to test himself against Roger “Old School” Krahl (5-3) from Ft. Lauderdale, FL.
Andrew Parker (3-0) faces the biggest test of his career against Brett Chism (6-3) of Valdosta, GA.
Hard hitting heavyweight Mike Greeson goes up against wrestler Darrell Kennington.
Talented Gracie Tampa’s Jeff Bailey vs. Justin Benton.
Tigers World’s J Lee in a “do or die” bout coming off three consecutive loses will try and reverse that trend against Jason Gates.
Rounding out the card will be: Andy “The Crazy Greek” Paragois vs. Marcello Mastroianni; Mike Vallery vs. Brandon Brashears and Roger “Potage” Medel vs. Marcello Cabral; ;
Represented will be fighters from: The Spartan Gym, American Top Team, World Class Martial Arts, Champions MMA, Viper’s Pit, Team SPMF, Wolf Pack, Elite Training Center, Tampa Mauy Thai, Gracie Tampa, Valdosta MMA, Top Dog MMA, Tiger’s World and Team Animal.
Card Subject To Change.
Tickets can be purchased through RFC at 813-964-9818 and all Ticketmaster locations, or by visiting Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.com. Ticket Prices start at $25.00 for general admission.
For more information contact Denise at Denise@Realfightingchampionships.com or visit www.rfcmma.com
For Media Inquiries, Interviews, Credentials or Sponsorship Information contact FightZone Media at 727-577-5500 or FightZoneMedia @aol,com.
FightZone TV is currently airing the Best Of RFC on SunSports (6,000,000+ Florida Homes) and nationally on DIRECTV and The Dish Network (2,000,000 FSN Sports subscribers). Check your local Cable Guide for channel. Aoring Schedule listed below.
1st fight on the main card is Matt Brown vs. Dong Hyun Kim. Matt Brown’s entrance music is awesome and appropriate – Devil Went Down To Georgia by Charlie Daniels. Also, Dong Hyun Kim’s college major is JUDO. That is pretty awesome. The first round was great, back and forth, but mostly with Kim getting the best of it. I give round one to Dong Hyun Kim. The second round seems like someone messed with Matt Brown’s copenhagen or something, he is definitely winning round two, beating Kim in the Thai Clinch. Less than a minute left in round two and Dong Hyun Kim seems really tired. Kim has taken some nasty body shots. Round three ends with more elbows to the body from Matt Brown. Round three starts and uh oh, Kim took Matt Brown to the mat and has knee-on-belly, but Matt Brown is able to stand back up. Kim is having more luck with his takedowns in round 3. Matt Brown is bleeding from his face now, Kim landed an elbow, but I don’t think it was enough to win. Who knows. Maybe a split decision. Matt Brown asks his corner “do you think I won?” — I think so, but some could argue rounds one and three went to Dong Hyun Kim. Damn, Matt Brown has a gnarly gash under his eyepiece. JUDGES DECISION: Dong Hyun Kim.
Martin Kampmann vs. Nate Marquardt – Martin Kampmann is the real Slim Shady. Anyway, I’m predicting another judges decision for this fight. Hopefully I’m wrong. Kampman OH SHIT Marquardt with the head kick, will Kampmann survive? Damn, I was just about to say Kampmann landed a nice right hook before Marquardt kicked him in the dome. Ever since, Kampmann has been taking nasty strikes. KAMPMANN down and the fight is stopped. Wow, they were just talking about Martin’s great stand-up game, but after getting caught with the headkick from Marquardt, he never fully recovered and Nate continued to flurry all kinds of strikes at him before referee Mario Yamasaki stops the fight. NATE MARQUARDT wins via TKO.
Dan Henderson vs. Rousimar Palhares – WARRR Hendo. Also, Big Boi from Outkast is in the audience sitting next to Rampage Jackson. Southernplayalisticcadillacmuzik. Crumblin’ Herb. Hendo is going apeshit with Palhares on his back, Hendo trying to land bombs, but lets Palhares get back to his feet. Good kick by Rousimar, but Hendo punches back, nice spinning heel kick attempt by Rousimar Palhares but it didn’t land. Finally they close in on each other again, and Palhares throws some good strikes himself, punches and kicks, Hendo knocks him down again and throws more bombs, but they’re both back up now. These dudes fight when they get close, damn Palhares gets a takedown and has now side control, now in Hendo’s half guard, only 10 seconds left in the round though. Great round. I want Palhares to lose simply because he’s wearing that stupid Condom Depot ad on his ass. Round TWO Palhares is winning this round so far, he had Hendo is a gnarly heel hook just a second ago. Score a vicious takedown before that. He’s on his back now with Hendo going for some kind of choke. Lets him up and tries to land an uppercut. Palhares might be tired, hell they both might be tired. Henderson is back in Palhares guard now. Referee stands them back up due to a lack of action on the ground. 30 seconds left in the round. Dude am I seeing Joachim Hansen in Dan Henderson’s corner? I can’t tell but I’m seeing some pale white dude with arm tattoos. No, I’m pretty sure it’s not Joachim Hansen. Ok, we’re in round 3 now. Nothing has happened in round 3. One minute left. oh damn and Hendo knocks Palhares down but lands in another leglock, Hendo escapes and they’re back to their feet. The fight ends with Hendo throwing bombs at Palhares on his back. This will be a unanimous decision victory for Dan Henderson. If it’s not, something is wrong.
Joe Rogan in the audience interviewing Randy Couture. Randy says the same stuff you’ve already heard him say about the upcoming fight with Brock Lesnar.
Now we get to see an unaired preliminary fight featuring Tim Boetsch vs Michael Patt. It seems obvious that Boetsch wins by the way Mike Goldberg led us into the fight “earlier tonight we welcomed Tim Boetsch” or something like that. Maybe I’m wrong. Nope, I’m right. First round knockout for Tim Boetsch. Thanks for the spoiler, Goldberg.
Rich Franklin vs. Matt Hamill – damn I like watching both of these guys win, I don’t really have a favorite for this fight. Should be a great matchup too, in my opinion. Both dudes from Ohio I think, and are friends, but hopefully that won’t be noticeable in tonights fight. Ok, I’m rooting for Matt Hamill now because he’s playing Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Simple Man” for his entrance music. AWESOME. Ok, all the action happened within the last minute of round 1. Hamill got a takedown, nearly got armbarred by Rich Franklin, Hamill defended well, caught a knee to the face from Rich Franklin on the way back up, kinda looked like it might’ve been an illegal knee, dont know though, will have to see it again. ROUND TWO starts. I don’t know why the hell Matt Hamill isn’t going for more takedowns. Franklin is way outstriking. Referee pauses the fight to check a cut on Rich Franklin, looks terrible, but they let the fight continue. Joe Rogan says Franklin lost a big chunk of meat. lol. Franklin is kicking Hamill’s ass right now though, because Hamill isn’t going for takedowns as often as he should. Franklin just kicked Hamill in the balls also. Hamill is going for takedowns now, but not getting them. Hamill is a tough mofo though. ROUND THREE starts. Rich Franklin just ended the fight with a great kick to Matt Hamills ribcage/liver. Fight over. RICK FRANKLIN wins by TKO.
Chuck Liddell vs. Rashad Evans – LOL @ Rashad Evans doing the GSP nipple twist before the fight. Greg Jackson must teach them to do that. Holy shit, let me tell you what the hell just happened. My fucking COMCAST cable company just quit on me and my Pay-per-view went out during the damn Liddell/Evans fight. Assholes piss me off. Anyway, Chuck Liddell threw another damn body shot leaving his guard down and Rashad Evans connected to his chin and knocked him the fuck out. RASHAD EVANS WINS BY KNOCKOUT.
The UFC Just Bleed guy has become an internet legend. To hell with that, he is a legend of MMA. Does he know about his fame? I don’t know… but thanks to Joe Nameth on the UG, we have more pictures of the Just Bleed guy, and his name is James Ladner. Unfortunately, homeboy is locked up until 2012 in a Mississippi prison for receiving stolen property (mugshot below). Damn, Just Bleed, that’s a harsh sentence for being a fence. FREE JUST BLEED.
We also learn from these photographs that Just Bleed attended the UFC events along with other personalities such as the Tapout Thug (props to WatchinMMA for the name) and a dude sporting a sweatpants boner (see photo’s below).
Since you’re here, you should go sign up on our MMA forum and post something. Damnit.
