Evan Tanner always walked to the beat of his own drum, and it was that trait that endeared him to mixed martial arts fans across the globe.
More than 13 years after his untimely death, the eccentric Amarillo, Texas, native remains a respected figure in hardcore circles as a former Ultimate Fighting Championship titleholder and the first American to win a Pancrase Neo-Blood tournament. Tanner finished his career with a 32-8 record that included 29 finishes, 28 of them inside one round. He made his final appearance at “The Ultimate Fighter 7” Finale, where he dropped a unanimous decision to Kendall Grove on June 21, 2008.
As Tanner’s memory becomes more and more blurred by the passage of time, a look at some of the numbers that accompanied him throughout his life and career:
37: Years of age when Tanner died from heat exposure in Palo Verde, California, on Sept. 5, 2008.
17: Tanner wins by submission, accounting for 53% of his career total (32). His methods of choice: five triangle chokes, four arm-triangle chokes, three rear-naked chokes, two keylocks, one Ezekiel choke, one kimura and one armbar.
119: Days spent by Tanner as undisputed UFC middleweight champion. He captured the 185-pound title with a first-round technical knockout of David Terrell at UFC 50 on Feb. 5, 2005, then surrendered it in a fourth-round stoppage loss to Rich Franklin at UFC 53 on June 4, 2005.
15: Rounds completed by Tanner as a professional mixed martial artist. He went the distance on four different occasions and carried a 3-1 record in those bouts.
4: UFC appearances in which Tanner executed multiple takedowns. He landed a personal-best five of them in a unanimous decision over Phil Baroni in their UFC 48 rematch in June 2004.
56: Seconds needed for Tanner to punch Joe Frailey into submission at a PSDA show on Nov. 22, 1997. It was the fastest finish of his 40-fight career.
6: Organizations in which Tanner plied his MMA trade. He went 11-6 in the UFC, 11-0 in the United Shoot Wrestling Federation, 5-1 in Pancrase, 2-1 in PSDA, 2-0 in Gladiators and 1-0 in the Full Contact Fighting Federation.
1: Submission defeat on the Tanner resume. Heath Herring was the perpetrator, and he did the deed with a rear-naked choke.
11: Different calendar years in which Tanner competed as a mixed martial artist. He went 6-1 in 1997, 10-0 in 1998, 4-1 in 1999, 3-0 in 2000, 1-1 in 2001, 2-0 in 2002, 2-1 in 2003, 2-0 in 2004, 1-2 in 2005, 1-0 in 2006 and 0-2 in 2008.
.647: Cumulative winning percentage between the seven men—Franklin (twice), Grove, Herring, Yushin Okami, David Loiseau, Tito Ortiz and Leon van Dijk—who defeated Tanner. They sport a combined record of 167-89-2.
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