Evan Tanner

Evan Tanner
Tanner in 2005
BornEvan Lloyd Tanner
(1971-02-11)February 11, 1971
Amarillo, Texas, US
DiedSeptember 5, 2008(2008-09-05) (aged 37)
near Palo Verde, California, US
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight185 lb (84 kg; 13.2 st)
DivisionMiddleweight
Light Heavyweight
Heavyweight
Reach74 in (188 cm)[1]
Team
  • Hard Knocks Kickboxing[2]
  • Team Quest
  • Chute Boxe USA
  • American Top Team
  • USA Stars
RankBlack belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Cesar Gracie[3]
Years active1997–2008
Mixed martial arts record
Total40
Wins32
By knockout12
By submission17
By decision3
Losses8
By knockout6
By submission1
By decision1
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Evan Lloyd Tanner (February 11, 1971 – September 5, 2008) was an American professional mixed martial arts fighter. He was a former UFC Middleweight Champion and was the first American to win the Pancrase Neo-Blood tournament in Tokyo, Japan.[4]

Tanner won the UFC Middleweight Championship at UFC 51, stopping David Terrell with strikes in the first round. He is considered a pioneer in the sport of MMA and one of the first fighters to use elbows as an effective striking method in the ground and pound position.

Tanner is considered[by whom?] 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.

  1. ^ "Evan Tanner's Official ESPN Profile". ESPN. Retrieved June 22, 2014.
  2. ^ "Chute Boxe Academy: Official Site3". Chute Boxe. 2007. Archived from the original on September 21, 2007. Retrieved August 15, 2007.
  3. ^ Mick Hammond (September 8, 2018). "Evan Tanner: Remembering a Wayward UFC Champion". mmaweekly.com.
  4. ^ "Ultimate Fighting Championship". Ufc.com. Archived from the original on March 30, 2010. Retrieved December 14, 2010.