Sad Day for MMA

In a sad bit of news, a body believed to be that of former UFC middleweight champion Evan Tanner was recovered in the Palo Verde moutain region of southern California. On Thursday friends of Tanner's began receiving texts from him saying that he had run out of water and gasoline for his motorcycle. He had been chronicling a planned camping trip on his blog for the past month.

Tanner was one of the cooler guys in the game in my opinion. He learned submissions by watching instructional videos. He made his pro debut on a whim, winning a heavyweight tournament that included Paul Buentello. I always thought that he was one of the guys who embodied the "samurai spirit" that some people like to attribute to MMA fighters. As cliche as it sounds, he fought to test himself, not to make money or be famous. He was a guy most fans would have loved to have a beer with, and he will be missed.