Why Evan Tanner Was Important
EDITOR’S NOTE: A petition requesting former UFC middleweight champion Evan Tanner be posthumously inducted into the UFC hall of fame can be signed here. — KK
I once wrote that Evan Tanner’s excursions were, if nothing else, unnecessary, and in my opinion they were. But that is what separates people like Evan Tanner from the rest of us average joes. Someone like myself could never really understand what motivated someone like Evan to take such great risks. He was a different breed of individual who sought much more out of life than most anyone else on the planet.
Evan Tanner truly mattered. Not just as a fighter, but as a person. Usually when someone dies people feel obligated to try and scrape up something unique to say about them. But for Tanner, this is a pretty easy task. For starters, Evan Tanner was a man of tremendous heart. He was only self-trained for much of his early career, learning MMA techniques from watching instructional video tapes. Tanner battled back from alcohol addiction, refused corporate sponsors even though he lived and died utterly broke due to gambling losses, and donated more time to charitable organizations than any other fighter I can think of. He also earned the UFC middleweight crown and held it for mere moments before losing it, never complaining about his short lived glory.
Put simply, Evan Tanner’s mysterious, confusing, and sometimes bizarre life of boozing, gambling and fighting meant something to more people than even he could have ever imagined. Tanner may have died at 37, but trust when I say that he lived more than any of us might ever hope to. Tanner lived the way people were probably meant to live, the way we probably would live if we didn’t have day jobs, mortgages, wives, children, tuition, and everything in between. I think all of us have that innate desire to explore the great unknown a la Kerouac or McCandless, but the difference is Tanner actually did it. On several occasions. Sadly, he will not be coming back from his latest adventure.
Evan was also famous for letting his inner lunatic shine through, and not trying desperately to hide it from the rest of the world. Hell, he even created a blog about it. A lot of people thought he was crazy, and he probably was, but he let you know it. Evan Tanner rocked a papa smurf beard in the scalding Las Vegas sun, he lived in shambles and wrote obscure poetry to pass the time, and he admitted every time he screwed up and despite the obvious, you had to respect his honesty. And, of course, Evan Tanner took it upon himself to hit the open road at any given time just because he felt like it. Ignoring danger and precautions, Evan did things no one ever had to do, but probably should at least once in a lifetime, if perhaps to a lesser extent.
In the end, I cannot help but think that Evan carried on to the next life in a manner suiting to his own taste. Somehow, the idea of Tanner nodding off peacefully in the night in some hospital bed doesn’t seem quite realistic for the man who was never content to sit still in any one place for too long.
To sum things up, I leave you with the words from Team Tanner founder John Hayner, who suggests, as opposed to donating money to some newly formed foundation, what one might want to do to help honor the memory of our departed friend.
“Evan would be very happy if people remembered him by doing something unexpectedly nice for someone who is in need. Evan is not gone - we will carry him in our hearts forever.â€
good article…Makes wanna quit worrying about all the bullsh*t in life and just go out and live…RIP Evan Tanner
nice tribute mate, he will be missed. the ufc better do a tribute at ufc 89!
Evan was a true warrior whos spirit always shined bright even when he may not have. His words of wisdom and insight helped so many even when he could not figure out how to best help himself. I started reading his blog before the start of team tanner and was inspired by his honesty.
Evan lived life always fighting the odds. He became UFC champ, getting his start from reading self defense books and brought himself back from Alcoholism among other things to return to the UFC to take on world class opponents at the top of their game.
In short, Evan was the ****ing man
I HOPE THEY DO SOMETHING FOR YOU AT THE FIGHT NIGHT MAN. YOUR AN AWESOME PERSON AND FIGHTER YOU WILL BE MISSED. RIP MAN… THANKS FOR EVERYTHING YOU’VE DONE…
Please sign the petition to get Evan into the UFC hall of fame. He deserves it.
they need to. he was awesome. andi signed the petetion to induct evan tanner
yeah i agree, they’ve got to do some sort of tribute to him, but would i sound like some sort of heartless jerk if i said i was against putting him in the ufc hall of fame? anyway, as great of a fighter and person he was, that’s my opinion.
KELVIN YOU DO WHAT YOU WANT MAN. WETHER HE DESERVES IT OR NOT. I FEEL WE NEED TO SIGN IT. HE WAS A GOOD GUY AND WAS ALWAYS TRUE TO UFC/MMA/LIFE. WHAT MORE CAN YOU ASK FOR. BUT LIKE I SAID I WOULDN’T JUDGE YOU FOR IT.
i still can’t belived he died i heard it on the radio i was just so shocked. i couldn’t believe it one of greats the wild boy! man will you be missed i hope he gets like 10mil to sign that. i htink they have almost 9mil
The Hall of Fame is just that - not some cheap memorial. If he should be voted in on MERIT ALONE, vote him in. Otherwise, pick a more fitting way to remember the guy.
but please all sign this petetion i think he reall doeserve this
i just thought it was for the best legendary fighters
no disrespect to evan (r.i.p.) but every ufc fighter who died a tragic death would be in the hall of fame if things were done like this.
i wouldn’t care if he winds up getting in or not based on this, but if it’s just for the sake of remembering him, then i think the honor of being in the hall of fame gets watered down.
NICE POST
YEAH I KNOW WHAT YOU GUYS ARE SAYING.
the world is a worse and darker place now without him.
signature number #2345.
R.I.P
evan changed the game. his blend of techniques was different than the people before. wrestling, muay thai clinch and BJJ in a special mix that made MMA different. he practically invented the elbows on the ground, and not cheapo cut elbows but flat-of-the-arm ass-kicking elbows that slapped like someone kicking a side of beef.
he was a champion and as wild and unique a character as ever played. that makes him worthy of the HOF in my eyes.
Kelvin,
Tanner was part of the struggle during MMAs uprise. He was fighting in MMA before it was respected or considered half legit by the sports world. I understand what you are saying and I do agree that not EVERY fighter should be put in the HOF as reward for death. The situation with Tanner is different. Just as Eric said in many ways, Tanner was UNIQUE and LIVED! Everyone is unique in some way but Tanner lived above and beyond the average difference from human to human….He was a pioneer of life and carried thatover into everything he did. Tanner was one of the last few fighters from the old era that still provided us MMA fans with a “no quit/HUGE heart” attitude.
hes a lot more loyal to the ufc than anyother person in the hof, as far as deserving, he was one of the first guys to develop a following outside of just his fights. He has a way better record than randy couture, and he comes from much lesser beginnings. Tanner should be there for all the right reasons. Plus there should be something more and better as a memorial to him.
RIP Tanner
KOuch,
i don’t disagree with anything you said and it’s not like i dislike evan tanner or something. it seems you’ve understood my point as well. in football, baseball, basketball, those who have entered the hall of fame are the very best. was tanner a great guy who did a lot for the sport as well as a lot outside of the sport, yes. was he in fact one of the best? can he be compared to the likes of chuck lidell, anderson silva, randy couture, rich franklin, matt hughes, bj penn, gsp, roiyce gracie, etc.? i don’t think so.
i guess agree to disagree, just wanted to be clear on my point of view. props for the post.
Evan Tanner was a warriror. I hate that I can’t say that in the present tense anymore.
in hEVAN TANNER
yeah I think he should be in the hall of fame. His record is awesome and he a true pioneer of the sport. The last self taught mma fighter and a man who loved fighting and didn’t care about the fame. he just went to work and went home. He is one of a few fighters who communicated with the fans on a regular basis and he also respected the sport. RIP Evan
Evan Tanner was one of my favorite fighters. He will be sorely missed, not only in MMA but in life as well. I missed the chance to meet him at the Harley show in Milwaukee 2 weeks ago….I wish I had gone…
rip.
Three days later and I’m still weepy … can’t shake the overwhelming loss and sadness.
Evan was “golden” to me.
Awesome article man. The guy always reminded me of the dude in “Into The Wild.” He will absolutely be missed.
War Tanner!!