Evan Tanner
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Template:MMAstatsbox Evan Lloyd Tanner (born February 11 ,1971 in Amarillo, Texas) is an American professional mixed martial arts fighter. He is a former UFC Middleweight and USWF Heavyweight Champion with a professional record of 32 wins and 6 losses. Tanner first won championship gold when he defeated Heath Herring at USWF 7 and would go 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. Tanner would lose the belt in his very next fight against Rich Franklin at UFC 53. Tanner is currently training for his comeback in the UFC after a year of inactivity.
Biography
Tanner was born in Amarillo, Texas and graduated from Caprock High School in 1989 where he won the Texas State Championships in wrestling as a junior and senior despite not starting to wrestle until he was a sophomore in high school. Tanner attended college but dropped out not because he felt that he was not receiving the kind of education that he was looking for. He then went on to travel around the country for a few years. Tanner eventually returned to Amarillo and was convinced by friends to enter a local mixed martial arts tournament which would serve as the basis for the start of his professional career.
He is widely known for teaching himself submissions and grappling using instructional video tapes created by the famous Gracie family. Tanner later changed this method once he began fighting in the UFC. Tanner is currently single and has no children. He is also an avid motorcycle enthusiast. Tanner became popular to MMA fans because of his myspace webpage in which he spoke candidly about his life and career. Tanner is a believer that a fighter needs to be both skilled and entertaining so fans will get exactly what they are looking for when they watch the sport.
Mixed Martial Arts Career
Early Years
Tanner began fighting in 1997 when he was convinced by friends to enter a local MMA tournament hosted by the now defunct Unified Shoot Wrestling Federation because of his background in wrestling. Tanner went on to win the tournament, defeating three fighters including former UFC Heavyweight contender Paul Buentello in one night. He continued to fight in local shows and tournaments in Texas and Iowa before traveling across the world to Japan to compete in the Pancrase organization. Tanner would win five fights overseas and would compete in the USWF one more time before the UFC came calling.
Tanner made his UFC debut in 1999 at UFC 18, submitting fellow Amarillo native Darrell Gholar by rear naked choke in the first round. Tanner's next fight in the UFC would come against Valerie Ignatov at UFC 19. Ignatov was widely known for his leg submissions and because of this, Tanner decided to fight barefoot for the first time in his career, citing that shoes sometimes make it easier to latch on a submission because of the way they help a fighter stick to the ground.
Tanner would fight once more in Pancrase and would defend his title two more times in the USWF before deciding to take the first of multiple breaks from fighting in his career. He would return to action in July of 2000 and remained undefeated in the USWF, successfully keeping his heavyweight belt in victories over Raoul Romero and Vinny Nixon. Tanner made his next appearance in the UFC at UFC 29, beating Lance Gibson by TKO.
A New Outlook on Fighting
With three victories in the UFC already under his belt, Tanner received a title shot against UFC Light-Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz at UFC 30. Unforunately, Tanner suffered his first career UFC loss in just 32 seconds, being knocked unconscious after Ortiz slammed him head-first onto the mat. It was after this fight that Tanner would become a mainstay in the UFC and would begin taking fighting more seriously than ever before.
Tanner would be victorious three more times in the UFC before deciding to take another vacation from June 2002 to April 2003. Tanner's only fight during the hiatus would be at a charity event hosted by the Full Contact Fighting Federation. Tanner was victorious against Shannon Ritch, submitting him with a triangle choke in the first round.
Also during that time, Tanner began training with Oregon-based Team Quest. He returned to the Octagon at UFC 42, taking on Rich Franklin who was able to defeat Tanner midway through the first round. To this day, Tanner still believes that the fight was stopped entirely too early.
After his loss to Franklin, Tanner decided that he would be better suited in the UFC's middleweight division and left the light-heavyweight weight class. Tanner noted that fighting in a lower-weight class would give him an advantage being that he would be physically bigger than many of the athletes already in the division.
The Phil Baroni Wars
Tanner would then face Phil Baroni in consecutive fights at UFC 45 and UFC 48 respectively. Both of the bouts between the two were filled with controversy and surprise. The first fight at UFC 45 was looking like an easy victory for Baroni, who stunned and bloodied Tanner early on with many hard punches. However Tanner was able to regain his composure and take Baroni to the ground. It was there where Tanner began throwing many unanswered punches and elbows and after a verbal exchange between Baroni and referee Larry Landless, the fight was stopped and Tanner was awarded the victory.
Immediately after the fight, Baroni twice struck Landless in the face and began pleading his case to everyone and anyone around him. Baroni stated that it was a verbal miscommunication and he never asked for the fight to be stopped. Tanner and Baroni had a short conversation while the official decision was being announced and Tanner told Baroni that he would give him a rematch. The UFC agreed and the two were paired up against at UFC 48.
During a pre-fight interview for the bout, Baroni shed light on another controversial event that occurred at UFC 45 when one of the people working Tanner's corner began wiping blood away from his face after Landless sent the two to their respective corners so Tanner's cut could be examined by a doctor. Baroni stated that it is illegal for anyone to touch a cut until a doctor examines it first. Tanner reassured that the cut was checked by the doctor and his cornerman was given permission to work on his cut.
This time around the outcome was definite as Tanner actually out-punched Baroni throughout the entire fight en route to an easy victory. It was noted many times during the broadcast that Baroni did not look himself - After the fight, Baroni stated that his gameplan was to prevent fatigue in the earlier rounds by pacing himself. Tanner credits his ability to enjoy success while standing with Baroni because of training with his newly hired boxing coach, Curtis Crawford. After the fight, Tanner stated that his gameplan going into the fight was indeed to try and out box the professional boxer.
Road to the UFC Middleweight Title
After winning both of those contests, Tanner was victorious for a third straight time against Robbie Lawler at UFC 50, submitting his opponent with a triangle choke early on in the fight. Shortly after the Lawler fight controversy arose among the ranks of Team Quest and Tanner would decide to split ways with the group to begin training on his own once again.
Because of his success, Tanner was given a shot at the vacant UFC Middleweight Championship against David Terrell at UFC 51. Despite being the underdog, Tanner overcame a guillotine choke that almost ended the fight. He survived to thoroughly control Terrell on the ground, pounding away at him until the referee was forced to stop the fight in the last seconds of the first round. Tanner was awarded the belt and became the first UFC Middleweight Champion since Murilo Bustamante held the title before leaving for the PRIDE Fighting Championships in 2002.
Tanner was then awarded the opportunity to avenge his loss to Franklin at UFC 53, who also decided to drop down to the middleweight division after fighting in the light-heavyweight division for years. Tanner was able to knock Franklin down with a right hand in the first round of the bout but Franklin took control from there, dominating Tanner until the fight was stopped by the ringside doctor due to a TKO by Franklin.
Tanner's fight against Rich Franklin at UFC 53 was for more than just the UFC Middleweight Title as the winner of the fight would also become one of the coaches for the The Ultimate Fighter 2 reality show. Tanner expressed much interest in being one of the coaches, stating that the opportunity would give him tremendous exposure and that he would be able to show the country what kind of person he really is. Franklin subsequently became a coach on the reality show along with then UFC Welterweight Champion, Matt Hughes.
After losing his belt, Tanner began training with the American Top Team but his next fight didn't go very well either. He took on David Loiseau at UFC Ultimate Fight Night 2 and was ahead on points until the fight was stopped in the second round due to a cut Tanner received from a Loiseau elbow. With two losses in his last two fights, Tanner took time away to deal with some personal issues and refocus his fighting career. During that period of time, he stayed in shape by training with members of Chute Boxe. Tanner returned to the UFC in April of 2006 at UFC 59, defeating Justin Levens by way of triangle choke. Levens was a late replacement for Jeremy Horn who was originally scheduled to fight Tanner but was forced to withdraw after a training injury.
Recent Developments
After the Loiseau fight, Tanner was interviewed and stated that he would be moving to California and would become an official member of the Chute Boxe team. However this never came to fruition as Tanner decided to instead travel around the country and take a break from the sport.
In a March 2007 interview with MMA Weekly, Tanner was asked about the possibility of fighting again. He stated that his main focus was developing his his foundation. However he did hint that he would be training all year round with the athletes he will be coaching and that it may only be a matter of time before he returns. UFC President Dana White was interviewed by CBS Sportsline one week later and stated that although Tanner will be welcomed back whenever he is ready.
On May 11, 2007, Tanner announced via his official website that he would return to active competition and continue his quest to regain the UFC Middleweight Title.
Tanner's MMA Foundation
On December 29, 2006, Tanner unveiled plans to set up a mixed martial arts training camp that would reside in his house in Gresham, Oregon. The focus would be setting up a home for disadvantaged athletes and young men at risk. Tanner traveled from Las Vegas to Gresham in the following weeks and began to set up the project. Tanner remodeled and refurnished the house so it would be fit for the athletes to live in.
In February 2007, Tanner announced further details about the foundation. Twelve athletes will reside in the house from six different weight classes. (Heavyweight, Light Heavyweight, Middleweight, Welterweight, Lightweight, and Featherweight) Those who wish to sign up for a chance to live in the house will be required to fill out an application that is expected to be released in April 2007. Despite this, the first fighter, a welterweight from New York City, has already been chosen since he is a personal friend of Tanner's.
The members of the house will train exclusively out of the brand new Braveheart Gym in Gresham, Oregon. Various professional fighters and trainers will be invited to help train the athletes. There are also plans to have a competitive fight team formed by Tanner and other fighters interested in the future.
As of May 11, 2007, plans for setting up the foundation have been put on hold by Tanner, citing his training and a bad experience with the first fighter that was invited to the house as reasons for the break.
MMA Record
See also
External links
References
1. Jim Burman. Evan Tanner UFC 36 Pre-Fight Interview. Submission Fighting UK. Retrieved on 2006-11-28
2. Evan Tanner's myspace page. myspace.com. Retrieved on 2006-11-28
3. Evan Tanner's fight record courtesy of Sherdog. Sherdog.com. Retrieved on 2006-11-28
4. Evan Tanner Fighter Info. MMAforum.com. Retrieved on 2006-11-28
5. Evan Tanner Interview 6/30/06. MMA365. Retrieved on 2006-11-28
6. UFC Fighter Page UFC.com. Retrieved 2006-11-28
7. Evan Tanner Fighter Profile. Ultimate-fighter.ca. Retrieved on 2006-11-28
8. Evan Tanner Interview. ufighting.com. Retrieved on 2006-11-28
9. Team Quest: As Iron Sharpens Iron. Boxing Insider. Retrieved on 2006-12-03
10. Postal Connections: The Reason Evan Tanner Left Team Quest. Real Fight Gear. Retrieved on 2006-12-03
11. Evan Tanner Post-UFC 59 Video Interview. Sherdog. Retrieved on 2006-12-03
12. Sherdog.com Preview: UFC 59 “Reality Check” Part I Sherdog. Retrieved on 2006-12-03
13. Tanner Pays Dues to Rake in Profits Sherdog. Retrieved on 2006-12-03
14. From Common Competitor to Middleweight Monarch Sherdog. Retrieved on 2006-12-03
15. Jeff Cain. Breaking The Silence MMA Weekly. Retrieved on 2006-12-03
16. Marc Wickert This Fight is Wide Open Knuckle Pit. Retrieved on 2006-12-18
17. Marc Wickert The Desert Warrior Knuckle Pit. Retrieved on 2006-12-18
18. Marc Wickert UFC's Lone Wolf Knuckle Pit. Retrieved on 2006-12-18
19. Mick Hammond Evan Tanner Returns With A New Vision MMA Weekly. Retrieved on 2007-03-18
20. Sam Caplan Five Ounces of Pain CBS Sportsline. Retrieved on 2007-03-18