Evan Tanner
American mixed martial arts fighter (1971–2008)
エヴァン・タナー
- Born
- 11 February 1971, Amarillo
- Died
- 5 September 2008, Palo Verde
- Citizenship
- United States
- Sport
- mixed martial arts
- Occupation
- mixed martial arts fighter
- Height
- 183 cm (6 ft 0 in)
- Weight
- 84 kg (185 lb)
- Team / club
- Chute Boxe Academy
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 unusual among MMA-fighters, 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.
External links
Facts from Wikidata Q1379685 (CC0); quoted introduction from English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Data retrieved 2026-10-22.
Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.