Director:
Gerard Roxburgh
Executive Producers:
Dan Caldwell and Sophia Tavernakis
Producer:
Kirk Porter
CoProducer:
Lance Dumais
Associate Producer: Wali Razaqi
Cinematographer:
Matt Irwin
Composer:
Helen Patience
Jennifer Goodwin @ SignOnSanDiego.com writes:
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 »
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.
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.
Dan Miragliotta still sucks, and he looks fatter.
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.
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.
- Staff writer Brenda Bernet
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?
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.
It was only the 4th fight of Evan Tanner’s long career, and only the 2nd pro MMA fight for Heath Herring.
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.
In the main event, Anderson Silva defeated Dan Henderson to retain the UFC Middleweight Championship. Silva submitted Dan Henderson with a rear-naked choke in round 2. Anderson Silva controlled the stand-up game, but Henderson was able to take Silva to the ground in round 1 and possibly won that round, but had nothing going in round two on the ground.
Evan Tanner is not a contender for the 185lb championship. He didn’t look like he could find his range against Yushin Okami, and was ultimately knocked out with a knee. If he were fighting Anderson Silva, it would have happened much earlier in the fight.
Heath Herring looked good against Cheick Kongo, and wona split decision. It should’ve been a unanimous decision for Heath Herring.
Chris Leben KO’d Allesio Sakara in round one.
Jorge Gurgel won a decision over John Halverson
Diego Sanchez punched David Bielkheden into submission
Josh Koscheck and Dustin Hazelett fought a good fight, both got rocked throughout the slugfest, and Dustin Hazelett was TKO’d by Koscheck.
Luke Cummo lost a decision to Luigi Fioravanti
Andre Arlovski TKO’d Jake O’Brien
Jon Fitch won a decision over Chris Wilson
Who will be left to give him serious competition? Has Michael Bisping been given an opponent yet for his first middleweight fight? If so, I haven’t seen it. Although I imagine the UFC will set up Michael Bisping to fight the winner or loser of Silva/Henderson, but other than that, are there any other light heavyweights that could move down to 185lbs to fight Anderson Silva? Or are there any welterweights that could move up to middleweight to challenge him? I know in the past, Matt Hughes has expressed interest in fighting Silva, but I can’t see that happening at all, and I don’t see Matt Hughes having a chance at victory in a fight like that. I don’t see Bisping being able to compete on the level of either Silva or Dan Henderson yet, either. Maybe one day.
I’m of course interested in seeing how Evan Tanner performs Saturday night against Yushin Okami. Circa 2004, Evan Tanner would have beaten Anderson Silva.
I’m sure Rich Franklin still fits in the middleweight picture somewhere, but I don’t think a 3rd time would be a charm for him. However, I do think Travis Lutter deserves another fight with Silva.
What about other organizations? Are there any prospects the UFC could throw some money at and bring over to fight Anderson? Paulo Filho? Chael Sonnen?
In my opinion, if Dan Henderson doesn’t beat Anderson Silva, the best chance anybody would have is Matt Lindland (which won’t happen), or Jeremy Horn… yes, I said Jeremy Horn. I know he just got his ass kicked by Nate Marquardt, but I’m not using MMA math. Depending on how he performs Saturday night, I might include Evan Tanner.
Thanks to Firepowr.net for sharing his photos from UFC 81 and the weigh-ins. I’m jealous that he is attending the event, it should be a fun weekend in Las Vegas. Hopefully he’ll be able to email results of the undercard fights as they happen!
 Photographs below are courtesy of Huy Nguyen:
(Joe Lauzon watching Kenflo pose for a fan)
Kenny “Kenflo” Florian
Heath Herring
People waiting in line for autographs
The Mickey’s Girls
The Mickey’s Girls ass shot
Keith Jardine aka The Technoviking
Frank Trigg
People waiting in line to see the weigh-ins
The scale and bigscreen
Nakamura
Rob Emerson & Nakamura
Emerson & Nakamura
Former UFC Middleweight Champion Evan Tanner made the announcement yesterday through a Myspace bulletin. Maybe Evan Tanner will provide a spark in the UFC middleweight division. I think he has a style of fighting that could possibly beat current champion Anderson Silva, however, Tanner will need to win a couple of fights before that match can happen. Anderson Silva also will have to get past Dan Henderson to retain the title belt.
Evan Tanner will make his long-awaited return to the UFC on March 1st, versus Yushin Okami at UFC 82. This is the same event that will feature Anderson Silva vs. Dan Henderson, so it should turn out to be a great show for the middleweight division.
We haven’t seen Evan Tanner fight in two years now, as he has publicly battled alcohol (and grew an epic beard). Evan says he is back to his old self now, living healthy and training to fulfill a new 4 fight contract with the UFC.
Be sure to sign up on the UFC Forums and start a discussion of your own!
Evan Tanner vs. Dean “The Boogeyman” Lister. That’s what the rumors are. We’ll know in a few days if it’s true. It’s about time that Evan returned to the UFC, that guy is a warrior. Plus he can grow a super premium beard. Dean Lister will be a tough challenge, and may even be favored to win when it comes time to fight. I personally would’ve liked seeing Tanner fight someone else as a warm-up.
Check out his messages and journal entries at www.evantanner.net.
