R.I.P. Evan Tanner

[thomas apgar]

As many of you are surely already aware, MMA veteran and former UFC middleweight champ, Evan Tanner, was found dead in CA yesterday.

http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2008/9/9/610540/remembering-evan-tanner

I just wanted to post this in honor of his memory and what he contributed to the sport so many have come to enjoy training and watching.

For my own part, one of the things I found most inspirational about Evan Tanner was that he kept on competing, through various personal and professional ups and downs.  As the sport continues to grow increasingly corporate and commercially macho, I hope there will be more guys like Evan who calmly move past the bluster and hype and are really only there for the fight.

For us creaking geezers over 30, he was an inspiration and he will be missed.

[Matthew Davey]

I heard about this after training yesterday. I mentioned it to my wife, which lead into my explaining Evan Tanner - the self-training by way of DVDs, the alcoholism, the warrior-philosopher, the way he made his life an open book on MySpace - and I realized that I will sincerely miss Evan Tanner.