Evan Tanner Dead at 37.

[Heart Breaker]

Evan Tanner, a former UFC middleweight champion and one of MMA's most popular fighters, was found dead in the Palo Verde mountain area of California today.

He was 37 years old.

A friend of Tanner's told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that authorities have recovered his body. Kyria McBrayer, who also assisted the popular fighter with his "Team Tanner" fan/sponsorship club, said she received the unfortunate news today.

Calls to the Imperial County Sheriff's Office were not immediately returned, but according to published reports, a campsite, which included Tanner's motorcycle, was recently discovered. A sheriff's deputy then found Tanner's body when searching the mountain's Clapp Springs area.

The cause and other details of Tanner's death were not immediately known.

His friends last heard from Tanner this past Wednesday, Sept. 3. A search for Tanner began on Saturday, when temperatures in the area reached nearly 115 degrees, but the efforts initially yielded no results.

The Palo Verde mountain area is located in southern California near the Arizona border.

Tanner (32-8 MMA, 12-5 UFC), a Texas native who won state high school wrestling titles in both his junior and senior years, turned an MMA professional in 1997 and began his career with a stellar 19-1 record to earn his way into the UFC.

Tanner, who claimed he learned much of the sport from instructional tapes and DVDs, received his first UFC title shot in 2001 but suffered a quick first-round knockout to then-UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz. However, after going 7-1 in his next eight fights and dropping to the middleweight division, Tanner defeated David Terrell for the organization's vacant 185-pound title in February 2005.

His championship reign would be a short one, though; Rich Franklin defeated Tanner in his very next fight.

After the loss, Tanner fought twice more for the organization before taking a nearly two-year break from competition. During the time away, Tanner began work on a charity to provide a home, training and support system for disadvantaged athletes, but he ultimately scrapped the idea soon after the home opened. Also during the break, Tanner authored a popular blog on his official website that discussed everything from his travels to the restoration of a sail boat to his battle with alcohol addiction.

In November 2007, though, Tanner confirmed he had signed a new four-fight deal with the UFC and was returning to competition. Tanner shunned corporate sponsorships and instead implemented Team Tanner, which allowed fans to sponsor him directly. Fans were rewarded with gear, memorabilia and other items depending on the amount paid.

Tanner fought twice after signing the deal. He suffered a knockout loss to Yushin Okami in March, and in his most recent fight, he headlined The Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale against "TUF 3" winner Kendall Grove. Tanner lost a close split decision at the June event, and MMAjunkie.com was later told he was trying to fight through injuries at the event.

Just prior to that most recent fight, Tanner became a blogger for Spike.com. The popular online journal chronicled all aspects of his life. His final post was dated Sept. 2.

In an Aug. 16 entry, Tanner discussed his plans to camp out in a California desert as a sort of a spiritual journey. Many readers voiced concern that he expected only to bring the bare necessities.

"I've been gathering my gear for this adventure for over a month, not a long time by most standards, but far too long for my impatient nature," Tanner wrote. "Being a minimalist by nature, wanting to carry only the essentials, and being extremely particular, it has been a little difficult to find just the right equipment. I plan on going so deep into the desert that any failure of my equipment could cost me my life."

In his final post last week, he talked about training at the Compound MMA camp in Oceanside, Calif., and surfing at the local beach.

We'll have more on this story as information becomes available.

http://mmajunkie.com/news/5243/former-ufc-...-dead-at-37.mma

Evan Tanner was always a free spirit, but when I first got into MMA, he was one of my favorite fighters to watch. When he became the middleweight champion, I was so proud of him. Too bad it was short lived. He was a true legend and pioneer of the sport. It's such a shame to hear of him being found dead.

R.I.P. Evan. The sport truely lost a legend today.

[The Don]

R.I.P. Damn shame.

[Nemo]

RIP

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[phil]

This is very unfortunate. God bless Evan Tanner and may he rest in peace. The only slightly decent thing that I could think of from this tragedy was that he died near nature and and was in serene peace with nature.

[Sunny]

Ur absolutely right phil. R.I.P Evan Turner.