Evan Tanner, former
UFC Middleweight and USWF Heavyweight champion with a professional record of 32 wins and eight losses, passed away at the age of 37 on September 8.
The mixed martial arts fighter went on a camping trip in the Palo Verde mountain area and had not answered friends' text messages since last Wednesday. He was officially reported missing last Friday and was found dead by an Imperial County Sheriff's Department Deputy on Monday.
Tanner won his first championship when he defeated Heath Herring at USWF 7, and went on to successfully defend that title five times. Tanner then won the UFC Middleweight title at UFC 51, stopping David Terrell with strikes in the first round. He was also the first American to win the Pancrase Neo-Blood tournament in Tokyo, Japan.
Ironically, Tanner discussed the trip and how a failure of equipment could be fatal on his personal Spike TV web blog. Subsequently, he downplayed such fears writing, “It seems some MMA websites have reported on the story, posting up that I might die out in the desert, or that it might be my greatest opponent yet, etc. Come on guys. 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 L.A. 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.”
According to his agent, John Hayner, Tanner was very excited about the trip and was in physically and mentally fit before his untimely death.
“He was in a good state of mind the last time we spoke,” Hayner said . “Everyone that was around him, and even at the gym he was training at, also said he was in a great state of mind. Living in Oceanside [California], he really liked being on the beach. His house was across from the water, he was in beautiful surroundings.”
-Kris De Leon, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: UFC.com
(Image courtesy of UFC.com)