Post by lar on Sept 9, 2008 16:29:38 GMT -5
A north Texas native who gained famed on the Ultimate Fig
hting Championship circuit has been found dead.
The body of 37-year-old Evan Tanner was found Monday by a deputy sheriff in a remote area of southeast California's Imperial Valley - near the Arizona border, according to the UFC's website.
The former mixed martial-arts middleweight champion - believed to have been on a camping trip in the Palo Verde Mountains - had not been heard from since last Wednesday, when he failed to respond to text messages from friends, said the UFC.
Tanner was officially reported missing Friday. The cause of death remains unknown, said the organization's website.
A native of Amarillo, Tanner worked various jobs - including as a bouncer, cable TV contractor, beach-house framer, dishwasher, baker, ditch digger and slaughterhouse worker - before stumbling on to mixed martial arts in 1997, according to the UFC's website. Over the next 11 years, Tanner had over 40 professional bouts - eventually holding the UFC middleweight title for a time.
hting Championship circuit has been found dead.
The body of 37-year-old Evan Tanner was found Monday by a deputy sheriff in a remote area of southeast California's Imperial Valley - near the Arizona border, according to the UFC's website.
The former mixed martial-arts middleweight champion - believed to have been on a camping trip in the Palo Verde Mountains - had not been heard from since last Wednesday, when he failed to respond to text messages from friends, said the UFC.
Tanner was officially reported missing Friday. The cause of death remains unknown, said the organization's website.
A native of Amarillo, Tanner worked various jobs - including as a bouncer, cable TV contractor, beach-house framer, dishwasher, baker, ditch digger and slaughterhouse worker - before stumbling on to mixed martial arts in 1997, according to the UFC's website. Over the next 11 years, Tanner had over 40 professional bouts - eventually holding the UFC middleweight title for a time.