Evan Tanner
Evan Tanner was born in Amarillo, Texas, United States on February 11th, 1971 and is the MMA Fighter. At the age of 37, Evan Tanner biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
At 37 years old, Evan Tanner has this physical status:
Evan Loyd Tanner (February 11, 1971 – September 8, 2008) was an American professional mixed martial arts fighter, writer, traveler, and adventurer.
He was a former UFC Middleweight Champion and was also the first American to win the Pancrase Neo-Blood tournament in Tokyo, Japan.Tanner won the UFC Middleweight Championship at UFC 51, stopping David Terrell with strikes in the first round.
He is considered to be a pioneer in the sport of MMA and is credited as being one of the first fighters to use elbows as an effective striking method in the ground and pound position. Tanner is considered to be somewhat of an anomaly in MMA as he began his professional career with a large degree of success despite primarily learning the sport via instructional videotape.
He was also one of the first MMA fighters to use social media as a platform to connect with fans. Tanner earned notable career victories over former UFC Welterweight Champion Robbie Lawler, former King of Pancrase Middleweight and Welterweight Champion Kiuma Kunioku, Heath Herring, Paul Buentello, Phil Baroni (x2), and Ikuhisa Minowa, among others.
Mixed martial arts career
Tanner, who had a wrestling background, started fighting in 1997 when friends encouraged him to attend a local MMA tournament hosted by the now defunct Unified Shoot Wrestling Federation. He won the tournament by defeating three fighters in a single night, including future UFC heavyweight champion Paul Buentello.
Tanner learned submission and grappling strategies from the renowned Gracie family's first success. Before heading to Japan to compete in the Pancrase group, he continued to compete in local shows and tournaments in Texas and Iowa. He has won five fights around the world and competed in the USWF once more before being asked to join the UFC.
In 1999, Tanner made his UFC debut at UFC 18, defeating fellow Amarillo native Darrell Gholar by rear naked choke in the first round. Valerie Ignatov, who was known for leg submissions, was his next UFC fight. Tanner decided to go barefoot for the first time in his career.
Tanner fought in Pancrase once more and defended his crown two more times in the USWF before deciding to take the first of several breaks from fighting in his career. He returned to the United StatesWF in July 2000 and remained undefeated in the tournament, winning over Raoul Romero and Vinny Nixon. Lance Gibson was defeated by TKO at UFC 29, where he appeared for the first time.
Tanner received a championship shot against UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz at UFC 30 after three victories in UFC. Ortiz's high-powered slam knocked him unconscious 32 seconds into the first round.
Tanner was accepted to compete in the 88 kg division at the Abu Dhabi Combat Club in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, April 11-13, 2001. In the first round, Sanae Kikuta defeated him on points (6–0).
Tanner started training with Team Quest, based in Oregon. He returned to the Octagon at UFC 34 by defeating Homer Moore in the second round with an armbar. Elvis Sinosic was defeated by TKO at UFC 36 (cut). In an undercard match, he won a unanimous decision over Chris Haseman. In the first round of UFC 42, he lost by TKO (strikes) to Rich Franklin. Tanner's demise in Franklin brought him to the middleweight division, where he will be more physically demanding than many of the opposition.
In consecutive combats at UFC 45 and UFC 48, Tanner defeated Phil Baroni. Baroni was in command in the early minutes of their fight at UFC 45, but Tanner knocked Baroni to the ground and landed a series of unanswered punches and elbows. Baroni and referee Larry Landless' brief verbal discussion ended the combat, and Tanner was awarded the win. Baroni said he did not enter, and Landless was struck twice in the chest right after the fight, and he denied it immediately. Baroni denied that it was a verbal misunderstanding, and he never asked for the fight to be suspended. To resolve the feud, the UFC has agreed to give Baroni a rematch at UFC 48, which Tanner won.
Tanner defeated Robbie Lawler at UFC 50 in October 2004, bringing Lawler with a triangle choke. Tanner then began training on his own.
In February 2005, he battled for the vacant UFC middleweight championship against David Terrell at UFC 51. He defeated Terrell to become the first UFC middleweight champion since Murilo Bustamante won the title before he moved to the PRIDE Fighting Championships in 2002.
In June 2005, Tanner confronted Franklin at UFC 53. Franklin was crowned after the match was suspended by the ringside doctor due to multiple cuts and swelling on Tanner's face. Franklin was named as a mentor for The Ultimate Fighter 2 reality television show, as well as then UFC Welterweight champion Matt Hughes. Although Franklin and Hughes did not fight at the conclusion of the game, Hughes said if Tanner had been a mentor on the show, he may have pushed Tanner for the UFC middleweight title.
Tanner started training with American Top Team but lost his next fight to David Loiseau at Ultimate Fight Night 2 in October 2005. Tanner was leading on points until the match was postponed in the second round due to a cut in a Loiseau elbow.
Tanner appeared on FOX Sports' Beyond the Glory, which chronicled the history of the UFC. He also became a member of the Chute Boxe team.
Tanner returned to the UFC in April 2006 at UFC 59, defeating Justin Levens in what was Tanner's last fight in MMA. Levens was a late replacement for Jeremy Horn, who was forced to leave due to a training injury.
Tanner announced plans to establish a mixed martial arts training camp at his house in Gresham, Oregon, for homeless athletes and young men at risk on December 29, 2006. In February 2007, he announced that 12 athletes would live in the house from six different weight classes. Tanner was asked about the possibility of returning to fight again in a March 2007 interview with MMA Weekly, but said he preferred to concentrate on improving his foundation. He said he would be training year-round with the athletes he was teaching, and that it would only be a matter of time before he returned. Dana White, the UFC president, was interviewed by CBS Sportsline a week later and said Tanner would be welcomed back anytime he was ready.
Tanner's further foundation development was suspended on May 11, 2007, citing his own education and a bad match with the first fighter who was admitted to the house. Tanner announced on his official website that he would return to active competition and seek to regain the UFC middleweight championship.
Tanner will return to the UFC in December 2007 against Dean Lister in a speculative contest. Tanner denied the report because he was fighting an alcohol withdrawal. He left Chute Boxe and began training at Hard Knocks Kickboxing in Las Vegas.
Tanner announced the signing of a four-fight contract with the UFC on November 8, 2007. He refused corporate sponsorships and instead formed "Team Tanner," an exclusive fan club for his forthcoming battles.
His first fight back in the UFC came at UFC 82, where he lost to Japanese fighter Yushin Okami by knocking out in the second round.
Tanner lost in a split decision at The Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale on June 21, 2008, his fifth defeat in his last ten fights. He remained "flat" throughout the fight and that he had begun to wonder if his two years of heavy alcohol use had harmed his body, beyond the point of which he once did not even qualify.