Issue 026

June 2007

Former UFC middleweight champion Evan Tanner was once a familiar face in the Octagon, racking up 15 appearances in the UFC over the last eight years, last appearing against Justin Levens at UFC 59 in April of last year. The quietly spoken Texan then took a break, and what followed was an unusual hiatus to say the least.

Evan started to reveal more and more of himself through his blogs on the popular website MySpace, the content of which caused fans to react with everything from support to ridicule. Some fans were even concerned about the former UFC champion’s mental health.

Sleeping on friends’ floors, drinking too much alcohol, and generally wandering through life, Evan Tanner’s very public outing of his sometimes unusual behavior was received with a mixed response by his blog readers, but Evan has always laid it out straight for those who want to know. He is just a regular guy, an imperfect man with stuff in his life that he needs to work out. No grandiose sentiments, no bluster, just the quiet and sometimes uncomfortable truth. 

He certainly revealed himself to be more than what you’d expect from your average MMA fighter, particularly in his ability to self-analyze. Pensive, confused, unsettled, and possibly even depressed, Tanner’s life unfolded before us in very revealing fashion. As quickly as everything seemed to have unraveled though, it stopped. Evan announced an unusual and unique plan to begin what he describes as a fight foundation, and all of a sudden it seems that the old Evan Tanner is back. 

Like a lot of the ‘old school’ fighters, Evan got into fighting by accident. Born in Amarillo, Texas, the third of four children (older brother and sister, younger sister) he started wrestling in his sophomore year of high school (around 15 years old).

“I was a wrestling state champion my junior and senior year. Tried one year of college. I took off traveling and working around the country. Signed up for a heavyweight tournament with a local promotion in my hometown of Amarillo when I was 27. I had never trained in anything except for about a month of Ryu Kyu Kenpo when I was younger. I didn't know any submission or striking.”

Evan has always been known as a ‘self-trained’ fighter. “I bought the Royce and Rorion Gracie technique videos and started learning the techniques with a friend in his living room. We would push the coffee table to the side of the room, sit in front of the TV, watch a technique, and then drill it. That's where I got the base for all of my submissions. I ended up winning the tournament (beating a fledgling Paul Buentello in the process). I got invited back to fight for the promotion's heavyweight title. I won that and I've been fighting ever since.”

The list of his pre-UFC jobs is a lengthy one: “I've been a ditch digger, dishwasher, cable tech, concrete worker, steel worker, salad prep, busboy, ski resort security, ski resort rental shop technician. I've worked in a slaughterhouse. I’ve been a landscaper. I've done drywall, tile, countertops, wood flooring, roofing... I have worked as a bottle collector at a bar, been a plumber, a bouncer, a doorman, a head of a security team. I have been a basket room clerk, a carpenter, a framer building beach houses, a truss builder, and more I can't remember.” 

Evan would go on to have a prolific fighting career within the UFC. He suffered lows (such as when Tito Ortiz put him on a highlight reel with a slam that KO’d him during his light heavyweight title fight at UFC 30). He had his highs (he beat heavy favorite David Terrell in their middleweight title match at UFC 51), and when asked about the UFC he’s incredibly complimentary. “I think a lot of the UFC, and everyone there. Dana White's a great guy. He and the Fertitta's have made the sport what it is today.”

Evan’s assessment of his title win is as understated as you would expect from him but no other. Eight years after starting his fighting career Evan won one of the sport’s most coveted titles. You may expect Evan to have been proud. “It was cool, but it wasn't the culmination of a lifelong dream like everyone might think. I'm not impressed with too much. I can't say that's good or bad, it just is. Winning the title was cool. It makes for an interesting story.” 

Evan went on to lose the title in his first defense against Rich ‘Ace’ Franklin. His feelings about losing the title are as understated as you may expect, with a typically laid-back response. “As I said before, the title wasn't something I coveted. What bothered me more than anything was that I’d lost a fight. But what could I expect? I was drinking far too much, far too close to the fight. I had no training partners. The trainer I was working with was preoccupied and didn't spend much time with me. I trained mostly by myself for that fight, doing rounds of hitting the bag and then conditioning drills on the mats.”

Tanner would then go on to rack up another loss and win in the promotion before taking his hiatus. So what made him turn his back on fighting? “I didn't turn my back on fighting,” he plainly states. “There have been quite a few times that I've spent a significant amount of time without fighting. In the history of my career, I've never trained year-round. I've only trained when I've been offered a fight. I have a lot of other interests, and I have a lot of other things going on in my life. I like fighting, I like the competition, but I'm by no means obsessed with it.” 

On one of his sojourns from MMA, Evan took some time to escape a troubling period at home and left his house empty in Oregon to do some traveling. Quite a lot of traveling, actually. “I spent some time in Huntington Beach, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Oregon, took a motorcycle ride down the coast on Highway 101 to into California, then back out to Vegas, Bakersfield, Newport Beach, Hollywood, Atlantic City, Hollywood, Vegas again, Kauii, Vegas, Oregon, Vegas, now back in Oregon.”

“I took part in the Redwood Bike Run, Bakersfield Thunder Run, the run in Vegas. I saw the Oregon coast from north to south, half of the California coast. I rode through Redwood National Park, across the Golden Gate Bridge. I spent time in Monterey Bay, rode through Yosemite, took a look at the General Sherman Sequoia, Half Dome, Yosemite Falls, then Death Valley to Vegas. Took another trip from Oregon to Vegas in my Landcruiser.” 

In typical style, the reserved Evan is quite guarded about certain aspects of his journey, particularly the emotional side. Regarding the motivation for taking the trip in the first place, he responds simply: “My feelings were a little hurt over some personal events in my life. I was just trying to burn it out of my system.”

He may have gained something emotionally valuable from his time away (“I did a lot of sitting. I did a lot of thinking”) but physically Evan isn’t quite where he was before he left. “I've gotten really skinny and out of shape (laughs). I've been doing a tremendous amount of visualization. I've come up with a completely comprehensive fighting style, or you might say an approach that I know will work for me.”

Evan’s plans for the future definitely involve MMA, but not in the way you may think. His idea of a foundation for aspiring fighters from difficult backgrounds (see side panel for more details) has been met with widespread interest. “I'm hoping to get the house or foundation set up to help those who are at a disadvantage and those who are at risk. I also have plans to start a competition team. The team will be separate from the house. The focus of the house/foundation is to provide a motivational atmosphere using MMA and fight camp living arrangements. It is hoped that all involved with learn much, much more than just fighting techniques. The mixed martial arts will simply be a vehicle to learn things that are much more important, [such as] respect for self, and others, discipline, self-esteem and confidence, and hopefully a little culture, and a little kindness. Hopefully, it will help some of these young men find their direction in life.

The members of the house will be encouraged to try out for the competition team, but it is not a requirement. Outside fighters will also be encouraged to try out for the team.”

Plans to return to the cage aren’t out of the question, but neither are they a priority right now. “I just want to focus on getting this foundation set up now. I'll worry about myself later.”

Evan has communicated with fans via his MySpace site extensively, using it in a way rarely employed by figures in the public eye. His decision to post very open and personal blogs was met with varied reactions, but his honesty is hard to argue with. “I've noticed too many famous people, too many celebrities, too many people in the public eye buying into their own hype. They get an attitude and start thinking that they're better than everyone else, that they're infallible, that they're perfect. I think that attitudes take away all the potential magic from what they have done.

“I'm definitely not claiming to be famous, or a celebrity, but in the growing world of MMA I am somewhat known. No matter what I end up accomplishing I never want to have that attitude. I know I can do some special things in the ring, but ultimately I'm just like everyone else, with same hopes, fears, strengths, weaknesses, and desires. I chose to write so openly last year because I hoped to get a message out there. ‘Believe in yourself, believe in the power you have to accomplish great things. We are all human, we are all the same, and we all have the potential for greatness.’” 

The foundation

“I have a house in Oregon. From the window I can see the Columbia River, with the hills and mountains of Washington rising on the other side. In the winter I can see snow on the peaks in the far distance. I sit on the flat roof on the Fourth of July and New Year’s Eve and watch fireworks going off up and down the valley. It is a beautiful place. The reason I described the location in such detail is because I think it would be a great place to set up a home for disadvantaged athletes, and youth at risk. I envision using MMA to help provide them opportunity and direction.”

So says Evan’s website, where he outlines the plan for his foundation in detail. 

In short, Evan hopes to be able to offer something to young men by drawing on his few resources and on what he knows best: MMA. 

“I want to set up a team with the focus being these disadvantaged athletes, and young men at risk. I want to use the house to provide a home. We would live together, eat together, and train together. It would be a team, but in a sense it would be a band of brothers, a family. I will help provide them with free coaching, training, and management. I want them to be able to train full-time. There are so many young people out there who have great potential, but no opportunity, no direction, and no sense of belonging.” 

A noble effort, and one that will surely benefit its creator as much as those involved. Although still in the developmental phase, Evan’s Foundation has attracted a lot of interest. First mentioned on his MySpace blog, the idea has grown and now has a website with regular updates informing followers of its progress. 

Details on the progress of the Foundation can be found at EvanTanner.net.