Written By Thomas Gerbasi of UFC.com:
As one of a handful of current UFC fighters who was around back in the pioneering days of mixed martial arts in the mid and late 90’s, former UFC middleweight champion Evan Tanner remembers what it was like when the topic of professional fighting – not boxing – came up.
“Before the UFC, you’d hear of other people being fighters – like ‘underground streetfighting’ – and getting paid for it, and you’d be like ‘whooooaaa’, with a sense of awe,” said Tanner, whose life journey to that point had seen him travel from California to Connecticut and plenty of spots in between in search of adventure. Fighting seemed to be a cool idea, but not one that he pictured engaging in for over a decade.
“I always thought of myself as the poet, the writer, or the philosopher – I never thought of myself as a fighter,” he chuckles. “But here I am. I always had an idea of the flow of my life, but not exactly what I would be doing day to day. And fighting definitely wasn’t something I thought I’d be doing.”
Yet 11 years after his pro debut in April of 1997, Tanner, 37, is still here and even headlining this Saturday’s Ultimate Fighter finale against Kendall Grove at The Palms in Las Vegas. Grove was just 14 when Tanner first competed in MMA, but with both fighters coming off losses and needing wins to keep their careers moving forward, these combatants have more in common than you’d imagine. Regardless, Tanner was pleasantly surprised by the call to compete in this weekend’s main event following his March loss to Yushin Okami.
“I thought I’d probably be a prelim or something, but I think what they’ve done is taken two guys that are good fighters who have had a bad run, two guys who are in must win situations, and they’re counting on the fact that we’re both gonna be going in there and going for it,” he said.
Looking back at the Okami fight, which Tanner dropped via a second round knockout, the Amarillo, Texas native admits that ring rust was a factor after close to two years out of action, but even though the result wasn’t what he ultimately wanted, just being back in action was victory enough.
“I absolutely felt some ring rust, but it was good to get back in there,” he said. “Before that fight I was in a pretty bad place in my life physically and mentally, and the biggest challenge was climbing out of the hole I was in, getting back in the gym, getting in shape, and simply stepping in the Octagon. I was happy to be back.”
And the fans were happy to have him back, especially since they had followed Tanner’s exploits from 2006 to 2008 on his website and myspace blogs and had become attached to him in a way rarely seen in pro sports these days.
“One of the reasons I had started that way back is because during the time out I knew I had plans on getting back in the ring eventually and I wanted to keep my name out there,” said Tanner, whose blog is now hosted on Spike TV’s website. “One of the other big things though is that I wanted to give something back to the fans and let them know that I’m just a regular guy. Some of the guys forget that and get caught up in the lights, and I never want to forget that and that I’m one of the lucky ones that got a chance to get out there and do this. There are a lot of great athletes out there, a lot of great fighters that never got the chance. I’m one of the lucky ones that did, so writing the blog and telling life as it is helps me stay grounded and it gives me a way to connect with the fans and give them something back.”
They responded in kind, even staging a mini-revolt on message boards when Tanner announced that he was shutting down the blog on his website on May 11th (the one that would eventually be moved to Spike). Needless to say, he’s had a bit of an impact with his writings.
“I didn’t know what reaction I’d get when I started writing, but if people are getting into it like that, then that’s good and my goal is to show that no matter who you are or what you achieve, you’re always gonna be human and you can never forget that,” he said. “That’s what the blog’s about – just everyday life, and the life of a fighter.”
Yet just because Tanner has fought off his own demons and made it back into the UFC, that doesn’t mean he’s reached the end of this particular journey – he’s still got plenty of fight in him, and he knows that a win over Grove will propel him back into the thick of things in the wide open middleweight division. Just don’t ask him for his timetable when it comes to challenging the boss of the weight class, Anderson Silva.
“I’m feeling really good going into this fight,” said Tanner, who has been in the gym for nine months getting back up to speed. “If I win this fight, I’m gonna take a little time off and then I’m gonna get back in and try to fine tune my game some more. The longer I stay in the sport, the more I learn and the more I realize that I don’t know anything. (Laughs) I’m just getting started trying to figure all of this out. I’ve been in this sport 11 years and I’m just amazed at what I don’t know. I learn something new in practice every day, and I’m like ‘that’s a basic concept, how did I ever get along without knowing that?’ But things unfold as they’re meant to be, so all I have to do is go along for the ride and be prepared as I can for whatever comes up.”
That’s Tanner being Tanner, as he’s modest to a fault and not one for building himself up for hype’s sake. But he’s also being truthful, because he doesn’t know where life – in the fight game or in general – will ultimately lead him. Then again, that’s part of his charm.
“It sounds contradictory because I’m a free spirit and I’ve kinda bounced around, but I always had an overall plan or idea of the flow of my life,” he said. “Let’s say your life’s a work of art, a great picture; everything I’ve done has been a brush stroke on what will hopefully be a great work of art. Even the bad times, the crazy times, I don’t regret a thing. – it’s all absolutely necessary to create this masterpiece.”
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