Evan Tanner Found Dead

full story on mma junkie. sad day for mma

Holy shit. Everyone knew about Evan’s persoinal demons. Sad to see it end like that.

[quote]Donut62 wrote:
Holy shit. Everyone knew about Evan’s persoinal demons. Sad to see it end like that.[/quote]

Yeah. What a shame. RIP.

No, it’s not true. At least, it hasn’t been confirmed that it is his body.

God I hope it isn’t true.

I’m going to cry into a bottle if it is.

Fuck, it’s true…

http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=7059&zoneid=13

:cry:

Drinking now. Here’s to you Evan. Rest in peace. You will be missed.

http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=7059&zoneid=2

[quote]Former Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight titleholder Evan Tanner was found dead near Palo Verde, Calif. on Monday. He was 37 years old. His management team at DFS Agency confirmed his death to MMAWeekly.com.

Tanner had trekked into the desert on a journey to �??cleanse�?? himself, according to Douglas Vincitorio of DFS. �??He went out to the desert to do a �??cleansing�?? as he called it. Kind of like �??Survivor Man.�??�?? These short trips were not new to Tanner, said Vincitorio. It is something that he has done numerous times over the years.

�??What we were told is that (sheriff�??s officials who found him) believe his motorcycle had run out of gas, so he went to walk out in like 115 to 118-degree heat,�?? said Vincitorio. �??He was miles away from his camp. That�??s where the helicopter found him. Right now, they just think that he succumbed to the heat.�??

Tanner had apparently told friends before he left that if they hadn�??t heard from him in a couple of days, they should contact officials, which is what happened. When he stopped responding to text messages, friends waited a couple of days and then notified officials at the Imperial County Sherrif�??s Department on Friday.

A search ensued and Tanner�??s body was found on Monday.

On Aug. 10, Tanner wrote a blog on Spike TV�??s website, proclaiming his desire to start an adventure in the desert east of his new home in Oceanside, Calif. An avid outdoorsman and wandering spirit, he wanted to escape civilization for a while.

�??I’m not just going out into the desert, I’m going out into the desert to hunt for lost treasure,�?? he wrote. �??I’m going on a pilgrimage of sorts, a journey to solitude, to do some thinking, and to pay my respects to the great mysteries.�??

On Aug. 16, Tanner wrote about collecting supplies for his journey, and wrote about the dangers he might face.

�??I plan on going so deep into the desert, that any failure of my equipment, could cost me my life,�?? he said. �??I’ve been doing a great deal of research and study. I want to know all I can about where I’m going, and I want to make sure I have the best equipment.�??

Of course, this led followers of his blog to fear for his safety, as they often did when Tanner reported his frequent by-the-seat-of-his-pants adventures. In a blog dated Aug. 27, Tanner tried to calm his audience.

�??This isn’t a version of �??Into the Wild,�??�?? he wrote. �??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.�??

But he also affirmed that things could go wrong if his equipment wasn�??t up to snuff.

�??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,�?? he said. �??Any failure of gear out in the desert could cause a problem.�??

On Sept. 2, Tanner wrote his final blog entry, documenting a training session at a facility in Oceanside.

The Amarillo, Texas native was a high school wrestling stand out who won the state championships his junior and senior years despite only getting into the sport as a sophomore. He entered mixed martial arts in 1997 encouraged by friends.

Tanner rose to the top of the mixed martial arts world by winning the UFC middleweight title over David Terrell at UFC 51: “Super Saturday” Feb. 5, 2005. Tanner last competed in the UFC on June 21 losing to Kendall Grove by split decision.

�??He will obviously be sorely missed,�?? said Vincitorio. Adding, �??I think that Evan would want to be remembered as a very complex man with many layers, not just a fighter.�??

Tanner was surely a unique personality. He�??s eccentric spirit and competitive nature will be sorely missed in the MMA community.[/quote]

Tanner learned to fight MMA by watching Gracie VHS tapes in basement and beating up his brother with the moves. Truly one of a kind.

Goddamn it. One of my favorite fighters. I’m really speechless.

RIP.

I sorry to see him go, but I’m glad he went out doing something he loved.

Today’s strong words seem fitting.

To die is nothing; but it is terrible not to live.�??Victor Hugo

I always enjoyed watching him fight.

RIP.

A true shame.

RIP.

The guy always showed a ton of heart in his fights. Really really sad news.

A sad day indeed and a hell of a loss to the sport he loved so much… R.I.P

He was a nice, humble guy and a very entertaining fighter with a huge heart.

He lived an interesting life. It’s too bad his mma training camp didn’t work out. He seemed so excited about it.

I’m going to fire up Tanner v Baroni I & II tonight and feel sad.

A true warrior and a one-of-a-kind personality.

Tanner had his demons, but still very sad to see him pass at such a young age. He will be missed.

Holy Christ. This is where they found him. Utter desolation.

Always hell to fight a man who just keeps coming at you no matter what you do. Much respect.

I saw it on the news this morning. Evan was always one of my favorite fighters. The guy just refused to quit and has been through some serious wars.

He will be missed. RIP.

Yeah what a sad day. Hate to see a guy go out alone like that, but in his case it’s probably what he would have wanted in a weird way. Brutally honest guy who had my respect from the moment I saw him fight years ago.

Humble and adventurous, never say die, a class act.

RIP Evan.