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In Memory

4K views 26 replies 14 participants last post by  LizaG 
#1 ·
well as most of us kno evan tanner died today (September 8, 2008) at the age of 37 so i guess we can use this to remember his good times....post anything about him that u want; pictures, quotes, fight memories, videos or anything

http://www.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=news.detail&gid=14429

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=26028435

http://evantanner.net/

Videos of Evan
http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=evan+tanner&hl=en&emb=0&aq=f#

ill start with just saying that he was always one of my favorite fighters he will be missed surely and i pray his friends and family are okay during this time

also if your gonna go and esp if your gonna go early isnt it best you go doing something u love? he was so adventurous and a great person i loved that he went on actually treasure hunts....rest in peace



great highlight video...sad video
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7212009335508604944&ei=7vPFSL_LJKHSqALN59HHDg&q=evan+tanner+

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vo8DMJXq5s

"MMA's Maverick"




"College dropout, adventurer, seeker, traveler, ditch digger, dishwasher, cable tech, concrete worker, steel worker, salad prep, busboy, ski resort security, ski resort rental shop technician. I've worked in a slaughter house. I've been a landscaper. I've done drywall, tile, countertops, wood flooring, roofing. I have been a plumber, worked as a bottle collector at a bar, a bouncer, a doorman, a head of a security team. I have been a basket room clerk, a carpenter, a framer building beach houses, a truss builder. I've lived on a farm. I've lived in the city. I've earned money mowing lawns, selling on ebay, and fighting. A teacher, a trainer, and a coach sometimes. There was a time when I was younger that I didn't know any better than to be a liar, a cheater, and a thief. I have since learned to despise those things. I have had great friendships. I have had great loves. I have been a lover, I have been a son, a brother, and a friend. And I was once a world champion."
-Evan Tanner

TEAM TANNER!!!
 
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#11 ·
his website finally confirmed it

http://www.evantanner.net his site is going in and out of availability im guessing the people are editing it right now

im def gonna buy his believe tshirt...i always wanted it and now i definatly want it




“I believe there are people out there that just have a warrior spirit, whether it’s fighting or something, they’ve got to do it. It’s hard to identify with me; it’s just something I do.”
---Evan Tanner, 2005




TEAM TANNER
 
#16 ·
This is one of those things that I really had to let sink in.

He was one of those guys that you never met, but feel like you knew your whole life. He was so open and honest about every aspect of his life. The greatest of the joys and the lowest of depressions.

After I let it sink in, I'm saddened that the world lost someone so true to themselves, even in his shame, but I envy him for being able to lead the life that he wanted. His quest was finally fulfilled in that desert and he will be among those that warm a place in my heart.

I know it sounds odd to talk about someone I never met like this, but I too grew up as a liar, battled with addictions and finally found the path that I'm to take in life. We seemed to be very similar, but very different.

I understand the youth that he had left in him, as I'm only two years younger.

I can only hope that I'll be able to learn from this and treasure the time I have left, as long or short as it may be.

I hope that everyone take's a minute to read the quote I have in my sig, for it's something that I have always tried to live my life by. It really touched me when I read it, knowing that he lived it to the very end.
 
#17 ·
these are two of my favorite pics of evan. i chose one for my avatar, because it makes me feel better looking at his big, ole' ear to ear grin while he is standing in the cage doing what he loved. the other pic is of my favorite evan tanner hair style where he came into the cage sporting a full head of samurai hair. every time i think of one of evan's crazy hairstyles or his wildman beard, it just makes me smile.
 

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#19 ·
"I stepped up into the Octagon, under the lights, the canvas cool against the soles of my feet, the quiet of the arena echoing off row after row of empty seats. I stood there in silence, honoring all of the warriors who have stood that ground, and offering a silent prayer for those who will stand there in the future. I paid my respects to whatever gods of war may be, knowing that I would soon be standing this field again, heart pumping, blood coursing, lungs burning, ……battle raging."
-Evan Tanner
 
#20 ·
Joe Rogan Thoughts on Evan


"He would write with painful honesty and admirable vision about every aspect of his journey through this life, and when I would read his words I would always get food for thought.
Sometimes when I write, it’s like I’m reaching out to an old friend without a name or a face. I think of it as some new form of non-physical intimacy....

Reading Evan Tanner’s blog has on many occasions inspired me into that conclusion.
His blog was a porthole into the window of his soul, and reading his brave, uncensored thoughts gave me an invigorated sense of purpose to do the same.
Evan’s take on life was like that of a character in an adventure novel, and his thirst for experience was actually what lead him into fighting in the first place.

I can remember the first time I watched him fight, when I read that he learned his techniques from a video tape and was self trained. I thought that it takes a really unusual person to enter into the toughest sport in the world that way. He took that unusual energy and channeled it to become the UFC middleweight champion of the world.
He was that, and more."

Joe Rogan
 
#21 ·


Some Comments from those in the MMA community

Matt Lindland and Team Quest:
We at Team Quest are saddened to hear the news of Evan Tanner. He was and always will be a part of the Team Quest Family. As much as we tried to make Evan feel a part of the pack, he was a lone wolf and tried hard not to fit the mold. He liked to do it his way. – God Bless


Monte Cox, fighter manager and president of Adrenaline MMA:
I'm really saddened by the news... Evan first fought for me in 1998 and was one of the guys I always enjoyed seeing at the shows, whether he was competing or not. He always had a big smile and a handshake waiting whenever we bumped into each other. The MMA community and everybody who was touched by him will miss him greatly."


Randy Couture, UFC heavyweight champion:
We're all going to sorely miss Evan Tanner. He was a tremendous talent in our sport, and in many ways, self-taught in all the skills that he possessed in mixed martial arts. In a lot of ways his passing is metaphorical for his life, because he was one of those people that isolated himself.

I wasn't really familiar with where he had gone. He was in Oregon; he was gone. He was here; he was gone. Nobody could really keep up with him, he just kind of moved at his own pace and in his own time. He never really checked in with anybody, 'hey, I'm moving here' and let you know he was going, he just kind of disappeared. So I had no idea how to get a hold of him or where he was.

He was in Oregon with us for a couple years, through his championship run. He stayed at my house for a while when he first moved from Texas, and he lived in the back of the gym at Team Quest for quite a long time too before Donita moved up and they got there own place up there. Trained with him almost every day when he was getting ready for fights. Then he moved out of Team Quest in Oregon, and went his own way.


Tito Ortiz, former UFC light heavyweight champion:
All my blessing to his family for sure. It's a shock to me still. I remember Evan being a really good guy, and a solid fighter, and it’s kind of heart shaking. I was really taken back from it when it happened, when I heard about it online. I can always be thankful that I had the chance to fight him and just to compete with the guy and be around the guy for competition. He's always been a solid guy."


Kendall Grove, last fighter to face Evan:
I didn't know Evan personally, but personally enough that I fought him. I know that he was a really, really good guy and the sport has lost a good person and a pioneer to the sport. We fought and shared that bond. My heart is out to his family. I'm praying for his family and him. I'm going to miss the guy.
 
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