Evan Tanner 1971-2008

By: Guido

Evan Tanner was found dead on Monday. He was 37. Evan was a former UFC middleweight champion and Texas state high school wrestling champion.

Evan compiled a MMA record of 32 wins and 8 losses during his 11 year fighting career but never considered himself a fighter. Evan first stared fighting in 1997 after learning MMA moves from instructional VHS tapes. Tanner's background in wrestling made him a natural at the sport and give him a strong base to work with.

Evan captured UFC gold by defeating David Terrell in February of 2005. Evan's championship reign didn't last but a couple months as he was defeated by Rich Franklin.

Two fights later, Evan left the UFC to experience the mysterious ways of man, nature, and the universe. A complex man, Evan loved to read and travel. He chronicled his adventures on his website and myspace page. It was a big hit amongst his friends and fans.

In 2007 Evan signed a four fight deal with the UFC. He only fought twice and lost both times. Tanner was also still blogging for his website and for Spike.com.

Evan's latest journey was to be a spiritual one in the Palo Verde mountain area. The area is a very harsh and dangerous desert landscape. Tanner was last heard from on Sept. 2nd and a search for him began on Sept. 6th. Tanner's body was discovered not long after police found his campsite and motorcycle.

Evan wrote in his last blog entry:

“I’ve been gathering my gear for this adventure for over a month, not a long time by most standards, but far too long for my impatient nature. Being a minimalist by nature, wanting to carry only the essentials, and being extremely particular, it has been a little difficult to find just the right equipment. I plan on going so deep into the desert that any failure of my equipment could cost me my life.”

He continued:

"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."

Evan is now on his biggest adventure yet.