Evan Tanner
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Pre-UFC
Evan Tanner's (born February 11, 1971) MMA career, which would span over a decade, began on April 12, 1997, at USWF the Unified Shoot Wrestling Federation's fourth show. The USWF event was a single night three-tier tournament in which Tanner would come out on top of all three of his bouts, winning each by submission, including a Rear Naked Choke over Paul Buentello.
Over the next three years Tanner returned to the USWF for events numbering 7,8,9,12,13,14, 17 and 18. Tanner was never defeated in the promotion, going 11-0 in total, and amassing wins over notable foes Heath Herring and Travis Fulton. During that time, Evan also competed extensively for the Pancrase organization, Notably beating the much larger Justin McCully by Kimura.
UFC And The Title
Evan Tanner's run in the UFC began auspiciously with a pair of first round stoppage victories. The first was a Rear Naked Choke on Darrell Gholar at UFC 18, followed-up by a match at UFC 19 that would feature Tanner scoring a TKO against Valeri Ignatov.
Tanner's next few bouts were held in Pancrase and USWF, before he returned to the Octagon in order to face Lance Gibson, whom he defeated by TKO. Having gone 3-0 inside the Octagon Tanner was awarded a title shot against then-champion Tito Ortiz. Suffering a KO loss after a vicious slam by Ortiz, Tanner was pushed to the back of the line.
Staging a three match comeback Tanner beat Homer Moore, Elvis Sinosic, and Chris Haseman in the UFC, winning by Armbar, TKO (cut), and Decision, respectively. He also picked up a win over Shannon Rich in a charity show, FCFF - Fighting Against Cancer.
After beginning to train with Oregon's Team Quest, Tanner returned to the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Pit against highly regarded fighter Rich Franklin, Tanner suffered a TKO loss. Subsequent to the Franklin bout Tanner dropped to Middleweight (185 lbs).
Winning his first three fights as a Middleweight, twice beating Phil Baroni, and once catching Robbie Lawler in a Triangle Choke. The streak earned Tanner a chance at the then-vacant UFC Middleweight Championship, against Brazilian Jiu-jitsu ace, David Terrell. Evan had finally climbed the mountain and won the title.
Sadly, Tanner's run as champion was short-lived. In his initial defense of the belt Tanner succumbed, for the second time, to a TKO at the hands (and feet) of Rich Franklin. In the final four fights of his storied career Tanner won only a single time - a Triangle Choke over Justin Levens(pictured below). Tanner's losses during that period include Yushin Okami, David Loiseau and Kendal Grove.
Last Stand
Former UFC middleweight champion Evan Tanner has been found dead in the Palo Verde mountain area of the southern California desert. The news was confirmed with Tanner’s manager, John Hayner, who said he learned just an hour ago that the body found was indeed Tanner. He was thirty-seven years old.
The Official Press release follows: San Clemente, CA—September 8, 2008—The death of UFC fighter Evan Tanner, of Oceanside, California, has left the Driving Force Sports family heartbroken tonight.
News that the body of a man found in the desert of the Palo Verde Valley is that of Evan rippled through the fight community late Monday afternoon.
Lt. George Moreno of the Imperial County Sheriff’s Department has reported that Evan set out treasure hunting on Wednesday, September 3rd, asking friends to call for help if he didn’t return right away. Lt. Moreno says friends called the Sheriff’s Office on Friday, and search and rescue teams looked for him throughout the weekend in temperatures up to 114 degrees. Lt. Moreno says the U.S. Marines used a helicopter to search by air this morning, finally spotting a body two miles from the campground where Evan’s belongings were found earlier. While a coroner has yet to confirm the body is Evan’s, the owner at the management agency Driving Force Sports in San Clemente says people close to Evan visually identified his body at the scene.
“Evan was a dear friend to us and an important part of the DFS family,” says Driving Force Sports owner John Hayner. “He was so much more than a fighter. He was an individual we appreciated and cared a lot about. He marched to a drum only he could hear, and he was happy with that—so were we and so were his fans. He worked so hard to get fans more involved in the industry and be a part of his team. He was the kind of guy who kept on trying every day to improve…not just in fighting but in his life as a whole.”
Evan was born in Amarillo, Texas. He was a state wrestling champion before becoming an international mixed martial artist in 1997. He won a number of important professional fights, boasting a career record of 32 wins and 8 losses. He was a UFC Middleweight Champion and also won the USWF Heavyweight Title. Evan was also a long-time member of Team Quest in Gresham, Oregon. Last year, Evan signed a four-fight deal with the UFC, and announced that he would not accept any corporate sponsorship. The only sponsors he accepted were from his exclusive fan club, “Team Tanner.” Fans loved his personable myspace page where he posted honest updates on his fighting and his life. Evan, our friend, is loved and missed.
“Believe in yourself. Believe in your own potential for greatness. Believe that you can change the world. It is something that is within each of us.” –Evan Michael Tanner 1971-2008
R.I.P. Evan.
Mixed martial arts record
32-8
| 40 matches | 32 wins | 8 losses |
| By knockout | 7 | 0 |
| By submission | 19 | 1 |
| By decision | 3 | 1 |
| Draws | 0 | |
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