THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS WERE WRITTEN SOME OF EVAN CLOSEST FRIENDS, FANS, AND PEOPLE FROM THE MMA COMMUNITY.
"There are no words to explain how I feel right now.
I had seen the threads on the internet about Evans disappearance earlier today
and thought nothing of it. Over the past year and a half Evan and I spent a lot
of time traveling, training, and living together. Just recently Evan made the
trip from California to Quebec to corner me, he hadn't even moved into his
apartment yet. That is just an example of the type of friend Evan was.
After my fight Evan and I spent the entire night talking about women,
motorcycles, and supplies for his trip. I knew how well prepared he was for
this excursion. Although Evan was somewhat of a nomad, he was also very meticulous
and organized. He kept a notepad full of tasks that needed to be
accomplished for the day, and as most of you know, a very detailed journal.
Evan meant a lot of things to a lot of people. To some he was a drifter, a
poet, a warriror. To others he was a world champion and source of inspiration,
he was my best friend. More importantly, Evan was his own man. He knew his
path, and he walked it, as he will continue to walk in our hearts.
Please leave comments of memories or stories you have of Evan.
"He would write with painful honesty and admirable vision about every aspect of his journey through this life, and when I would read his words I would always get food for thought.
Sometimes when I write, it’s like I’m reaching out to an old friend without a name or a face. I think of it as some new form of non-physical intimacy....
Reading Evan Tanner’s blog has on many occasions inspired me into that conclusion.
His blog was a porthole into the window of his soul, and reading his brave, uncensored thoughts gave me an invigorated sense of purpose to do the same.
Evan’s take on life was like that of a character in an adventure novel, and his thirst for experience was actually what lead him into fighting in the first place.
I can remember the first time I watched him fight, when I read that he learned his techniques from a video tape and was self trained. I thought that it takes a really unusual person to enter into the toughest sport in the world that way. He took that unusual energy and channeled it to become the UFC middleweight champion of the world.
He was that, and more." Joe Rogan http://blog.joerogan.net/
"...perhaps Tanner's biggest accomplishment wasn't what he did inside the ring but how he connected with people. From writing his "Tanner Chronicles" for InsideFighting to his MySpace blogs and his writing for Spike.com, Tanner brought fans into the intimate details of his life in truly remarkable ways.
He may not have been the most famous fighter in the world but he was one of the most loved and those who did know of him never forgot him. Tanner spent time with fans. He ate with them, drank with them, and hung out with them.
And those out of his immediate range found themselves caring about him after reading his diary-like writing. It was likely not his historically long winning streaks — at one point, spanning 13 fights and two years — or title fight performances that made fans love Tanner but rather the way he shared his life with them.
In a day and age when some pro stars charge fans for autographs, Tanner was more likely to invite one of them along for a ride and tell them a story. Speaking with him before his last fight, Tanner's closing words to me were that he wanted to "thank all the fans for making it possible and making this sport real."
And fans have plenty to thank Evan Tanner for. By bringing them in, Evan made himself and the sport he represented more real.
From his relationships to travels to business ideas to his struggles with alcohol to philosophy, nothing seemed out of bounds for Tanner as he wrote and made each reader feel close to him. Tanner was beyond tough inside the ring and didn't know the word quit, but he was a true warrior because he wasn't afraid to be vulnerable outside of it." Elias Cepeda http://www.insidefighting.com
I talked to Evan on the phone for close to an hour shortly before he left last week to go out into the desert. We spoke mostly about how excited he was for the trip, but we also talked about what to do with this website now that his blog had moved over to Spike.com.
Over the past few years I became good friends with Evan while helping him with his web blog, shirt designs, and few other things. When we last talked about this website there were a lot of ideas thrown around about what to do with it and a lot of stuff was still up in the air. One thing was for sure; Evan wanted to use his name and the exposure that this site receives to do something good for people, especially all the MMA fans and Team Tanner members.
I'm not great with words, and there is nothing that I can say about Evan that hasn't been said more elegantly above this by people like my brother Ian Dawe, Joe Rogan or Elias Cepeda. What I can do is promise to do everything in my power to work with Evan's friends, family, fans, the UFC, and all other interested parties over the coming weeks, months, and years to make this website into something Evan would have wanted, what exactly that will be is still to be discovered.
Evan was a great man and a great friend, he will truly be missed.
Alan Dawe
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- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - "...No matter what the challenges were or how difficult the obstacle, Evan always kept his word....Evan was a great man of honesty, integrity, and substance. Evan always went above and beyond to help a friend, and yet he never met a stranger. He lived life to the fullest as only he could have done. Evan’s grave stone will have two dates separated by a dash, February 11, 1971 - September 8, 2008, but the DASH is what is most important. This represents all the lives he touched, all the adventures he experienced, and most importantly the life he lived. Evan has always believed in the power of one, one person can make a difference, and he did in so many ways.
I am a better person for having had the opportunity to have a friend like Evan. I just want everyone to know we are all devastated with Evan's passing. The memories I have with Evan will live forever. I am extremely proud of all that he accomplished in his short time here. God called home a warrior, a friend, a brother, and an amazing human being. Our prayers are with Jeff and the rest of Evan’s family, friends, and fans."
