Remembering Evan Tanner - September 8th 2008
by Nick Thomas on Sep 5, 2009 7:38 PM EDT
in MMA News
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PrintHow quick a year goes by:
Evan Tanner was an utter badass and a true free spirit; no he wasn't one of the absolute all-time greats, but I think he's a Hall of Famer. Here's why:
1. He was one of the best fighters to come out of the first wave of regional MMA events in America. His only peers in this were Josh Barnett, Pat Militech, Jeremy Horn and Heath Herring.
2. He was a UFC champion and a Neo-blood champion in Pancrase back when that really meant something.
3. He was one of the first, if not the first fighters, to combine good wrestling, effective muy thai in the clinch, and good jiu jitsu. More than that he practically invented elbows on the ground. Not cheap ass glancing open a cut elbows either -- Tanner's ground and pound elbows were short sharp shocks that stunned and damaged grounded opponents. Watch his very first UFC fights to see why Tanner's career lasted a decade.
Its noteworthy that he taught himself jiu jitsu and muy thai with instructional videos and books. Combined with his background as a Texas state wrestling champ -- again he was a prodigy, since he didn't start wrestling until 10th grade!
4. He finished fights. Out of 32 wins, only 3 were by decision.
5. He was always game and never gave up. His come back wins against Phil Baroni, Robbie Lawler and Dave Terrell are legendary for a reason. His losses to Rich Franklin showed just as much spirit.
-- Kid Nate talks about one of his (and my) favorite fighters. Evan, you are missed.
A Fighter with a big heart comes to Fort Worth to build a new playground for a low income school:
"Your Cause is a good one." "I will be there," Evan Tanner simply stated.
The playground build was on Saturday, November 3rd. Starting at 8am and ending at 5pm when the playground was completed. Evan Tanner showed up bright and early with a smile on his face and ready to work.
Tanner spent the first part of the day building a rock climb side by side with a parent and some teachers. After that job was done he moved outside to the site and just jumped in and moved from one task to another. Seeing each task completed before he moved on to the next. Not once did he stand still unless it where for a picture with a fan.
"Tanner managed to nearly have a hand in putting together every part of this playground today." "He is amazing." "I have never seen anything like it," said a local volunteer.
After the equipment was up, concrete in, and everything leveled it was lunch time. Tanner had a few minutes to get some food in before he spent his lunch time signing autographs for the 50 or more kids attending. He brought trading cards and gave each child an autographed picture writing something inspirational on each one.
"The ones to my daughters say, Live strong and dream big and Live well, Laugh often, and Love much," revealed a fan.
He also signed a t-shirt here or there upon request. The children seemed to be in awe. He then met with some local heroes out in the parking lot. The local fire department showed up to support the build day. The bunch of heroes took part in getting some autographs as well. Once lunch was over he was back at work moving the mountain of mulch.
"That man is a machine, a human shovel," said a volunteer from a local church.
"I guarantee that Tanner moved a third of that mountain himself!" said a parent and volunteer.
"He brought the same intensity to the playground build that he brings to the octagon," stated a fan.
"He has the most heart of anyone I have ever met, a true inspiration." "Not too many people get to meet someone as humble and giving as Mr. Evan Tanner." "He flew here to work for strangers, for free." "He made this day for the kids even more special than I had hoped for." "It is nice to know that some athletes remember that they can make a difference outside of their sport." "I am Lucky to have met him," declared volunteer and Playground Leader.
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man ...
i remember getting the news and just being totally shocked. one of my favorite fighters, he brought such a balls-to-the-wall attitude to his fights that you couldn’t help but love the guy.
RIP, Evan.
My favorite fighter ever...
I remember how floored I was when I heard about it. It’s the first time anything MMA-related brought me to tears. I loved his style and heart. When he won the UFC Middleweight Championship, you could just see how happy he was, like a little kid in a candy store.
RIP Evan….. here’s to hoping you end up in the Hall Of Fame, like you deserve.
RIP
There was always one fighter I wish I could have met in person. It’s a shame I’ll never get to meet him, but I feel like I know him so well. His life was an open book, theres no mystery to the ups and downs he faced. People can debate the Hall of Fame thing all they want, but considering how Mask could get in, I think Evan Tanner can be acknowledged. One way or another though, he’s my all time favorite, and I miss him.
"You guys are jerking eachother off with some pseudo deep bullshit." - Kid Nate
Nothing witty and no crazy pictures for this one.
You were a pioneer, a philosopher, and above all else a good man. You are and always will be missed. R.I.P.
"He built his whole reputation (as a) waffle house chef. They've been serving him up ham and eggs with a side of canned tomatoes." - Don Frye on Fedor Emelianenko
Yup
One could make an argument that that fight was turning point between the older “which style is best” MMA and the current “all styles together” MMA. Tanner beat the career out of Terrell.
weoweoweo is the best… and I <3 Vera cause he is pogi.
What a tribute!
Thanks for posting this Kid Nate. There were a lot of pancrase fights with Evan that I had never seen before. Evan might be gone but he will never be forgotten. RIP Evan Tanner.
Great piece guys...
Thank you for keeping his memory alive. I’ve been a fan of Evan’s for a while and was shocked when I found out about his passing, he was the definition of class. RIP Evan…
by Screwface on Sep 5, 2009 12:09 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
Hard to believe its been a year
It still makes me just as sad today as it did a year ago. It seems a bit strange to me that I feel so bad about I guy I never actually met and I highly doubt I would ever be effected this much by the death of any other athlete in the world.
I was supposed to do an interview with him just a few weeks before he died but I stupidly decided to ask him if we could delay it for a while. Being the nice guy he was, he told me no problem. I never got around to doing the interview and to this day it ranks pretty high among my biggest regrets.
RIP Evan.
Go Leafs and Bruins!
www.mma-elite.com
My Favorite Fighter
Evan Tanner was the reason I started watching MMA. I remember a buddy of mine had rented UFC 18, and Tanner was on that card. I"m blanking on who his opponent was, but I remember watching Tanner destroy his opponent.
Years later when Tanner returned to the UFC and fought Okami, and Grove. I remember watching those fights and sreaming at the top of my lungs. And I had never screamed before watching an MMA fight. I loved Tanner for his attitude, his blue collar appeal, and his ability to reverse a fight in a matter of seconds. I will always remember Evan Tanner as one of the pioneers of the sport, and a great human being.
RIP Evan
Gone but never forgotten…a man I’ve never met but one I will always know. A true warrior poet and teacher.
“I will do nothing lightly. When I walk, I will walk heavily. When I fight, I will fight with conviction. When I speak, I will speak strongly. When I feel, I will feel everything. When I love, I will love with everything. " -Evan Tanner
RIP tanner
you will be missed, i actually teared up at the david terrell fight. i will always remember seeing that for the first time and thinking, “man that guy is a bad ass”
ufc fan boy all the way
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better. -Samuel Beckett
by Scott C. Broussard on Sep 5, 2009 4:05 PM EDT reply actions
RIP
Great video/tribute page. It’s crazy to see all those submissions he was pulling being that he was self taught. Loved that arm triangle too.
Especially loved the article about his volunteer work, watery moment.
Hope to see him honored in UFC hall soon.
RIP EVAN TANNER
Still brings tears watching and reading this stuff about him. He was such a great person and seemed to only care about making others happy. You will forever be loved and missed Evan.
Just a request...
Would be pretty awesome if you guys kept this post 1st or 2nd throughout the day. More people need to see these videos and write ups.
That would be amazing…it’s sad that the new wave of MMA fans will never live through the Evan Tanner story. He was an amazing human being. His trials and tribulations, even though many were self induced, were great to watch him overcome.
I’m glad he became the man he was when he died, rather than giving up and dying in the state he was in before that…people can say what they want about Evan, but he overcame things many people give in to every day, and he did it his way.
"You guys are jerking eachother off with some pseudo deep bullshit." - Kid Nate
by Kaleb Kelchner on Sep 5, 2009 8:17 PM EDT up reply actions
I had never heard of Evan Tanner
until I saw him in his loss to Kendall Grove.
I knew he was considered a legend, but it wasn’t until I read this article and saw the videos that I really understood how much he contributed to the development of MMA, and exactly why he was considered a hero by so many.
Thanks for this post, and for all the comments here. It helps a relatively new fan like myself better understand the history of this sport and properly give respect to one of the legends of MMA.
R.I.P. Evan Tanner.
"I want to tell me what you see, let's go ahead and see by in the fight, what you saw, in the ring." - Tito Ortiz
If you can find an archive of his blogs you’ll really get an inside look at his life. Not sure where to find them at this point.
"You guys are jerking eachother off with some pseudo deep bullshit." - Kid Nate
by Kaleb Kelchner on Sep 6, 2009 2:38 PM EDT up reply actions
Good argument for Tanner to be in HoF
█♣█
A wise man told me don't argue with fools
Cause people from a distance can't tell who is who -- Jay-Z
by thetakeover on Sep 5, 2009 8:26 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/evantanner
weoweoweo is the best… and I <3 Vera cause he is pogi.
Like others have said, I never met him but at the same time I feel like I knew him throughout his career. I had the pleasure of talking to him on the Myspace back in the day and he was very open and seemed like a great guy. He didn’t have to talk to some annoying high school kid, but he did and for that I will be forever greatful. RIP Evan, you will be missed.
All UFC Champions, past, present, and future, should be inducted into the UFC HoF. Stripped titles being the exception. And, I should add, that they should be there regardless of past business and/or promotional differences. Murilo Bustamante, Dave Menne, Carlos Newton, Bas, Pat Miletich, Mo Smith, Kevin Randleman, and Frank Shamrock.
RIP evan tanner. i was in hawaii on vacation when i read the day an article was release that he passed away. i cried a lot that day although hanging peacefully on the north shore. i remember thinking “if evan was alive he would swim to the rock formation out there.” that day even though i was crying and really down i swam super super far out and chilled there in the middle of the sea until sunset. sad day in mma when he left us all but certainly never will be forgotten.. thanks so much for everything you passed on to your fans evan you will never be forgotten
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