Evan Tanner

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.

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 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. Provided by Wikipedia