Tributes and sadness have spread across the mixed martial arts world for Evan Tanner, 37, who died on Monday of heat exposure in Imperial County, California.
From the beginning of his 32-8-0 professional fight career in 1997 with the Unified Shoot Wrestling Federation in his hometown of Amarillo, Texas, to his 2005 victory over David Terrell to take the UFC Middleweight Title, Tanner was a fixture in the sport from before its glory days. He had recently mounted a comeback: After a two-year hiatus, he was midway through a four-fight UFC contract. Friends of Tanner have spent the last few days writing about how he went from alcoholic brawler to a warrior whose life was informed by the Buddhism that he came to embrace. His blog lacked the hubris of many professional fighters, and instead talked with humility about his personal experiences beyond the ring, and his love of “travelling, adventuring and gathering cool stories.” So it seems fitting to bid farewell with the quote from Tanner that now heads up his official website.
“Believe in yourself. Believe in your own potential for greatness. Believe that you can change the world. It is something that is within each of us.”
This article appears in September 5 • 2008.
