This Is Why I Respect Evan Tanner

Sometimes I catch a lot of flack for constantly talking about Evan Tanner or continually using him in pieces on here. I could care less. He’s my favorite fighter and has been for years. I can’t help it.

I have to admit. I was a little irked when some people started to rag on Tanner for his personal problems, however it’s kind of something that you have to expect when a guy with such notoriety like him put himself out there for everyone to see like that.

I’ve had a huge amount of respect for Tanner for the longest time, way before he start blogging about his everyday life on the internet. Here was a guy that originally learned how to fight through watching instructional video tapes and eventually became one of the top middleweights in the world. Every fight he was in was exciting because he threw everything he had at his opponent.

If you haven’t read Tanner’s latest blog post on his website, I suggest that you do. So does Fightlinker. It’s one of those things that I would recommend to anybody, not just fans of mixed martial arts. It tells the story of a guy who’s had to fight a serious problem for the better part of 15 years and is finally making major leeway when it comes to conquering it:

The apex of the journal entry:

That moment, in the silence of the dressing room, faced with crushing disappointment, numbing embarrassment, and that heavy sadness, I faced the old demons. I felt so low, as if everything had been lost. I wanted to drink. I faced those old demons again, and I beat them down. I won the battle, and I won the war. I didn’t drink, and I won’t. That was my great test, one I had to face before I could really move on. I passed it. I stand triumphant, solid, UNSHAKEABLE.

It’s pretty awesome to read something like this, especially when you know that instead of falling back into the same rut after losing to Okami, Tanner still has the same amount of drive to regain his middleweight title as he did when he started his comeback.

Evan Tanner is one of the most honest people I know. I’ve spoken to him on many occasions and he’s also extremely friendly and just an all-around nice guy. But I just have to say, I respect the hell out of this guy.

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