Great news. Sucked to see him lose to Okami. But Okami is a great fighter. Evan could have come back and fought some can at the bottom of the heap, instead went straight to the top. Hopefully he’ll get back to his winning ways come this summer.

Who would they match him up against, I think this time Joe Silva is going to give him a fighter tha matches up real well with Tanner one that gives him the edge so he can get a W.

Tanner knows who his opponent is, so I wouldn’t be surpised if the word got out pretty quickly on who his opponent will be. He isn’t exactly the best at keeping secrets…

Like Joey said, I applaud Tanner for stepping up to fight Okami immediately. It was a very difficult test that he was unable to pass. He will now be starting out towards the bottom, but since he is STILL Evan Tanner, I don’t think that he will be starting out at the very bottom. Meaning, he will not be fighting the likes of a Charles McCarthy. Rather, I see his next fight being against someone that has a reconginable name, but not too much experience. Possibly vs Kendall Grove, Drew McFedries, Terry Martin, or the winner/loser of Khalib vs Quarry. I don’t see the UFC bringing in some no name new guy to fight Tanner just to get a win under his belt. At Tanner’s age and state of mind, he can’t be wasting time with completely insignificant fights.

He needs to fight someone in the top 10 but not the top 5. Going straight to the No. 1 contender was ballsy but not very bright.

With the way the MW division is set up right now, it seems the UFC is just throwing together middleweight fights like crazy. Tanner clearly is no longer at the point in his career where he can make a serious run at the title. The UFC will most likely use him as a stepping stone for up and coming MW fighters, similar to when he fought David Loiseau. Hopefully he can have a good fight against someone like an Ed Herman and help elevate them to the next level.

Patrick Cote vs. Evan Tanner anybody?
Kendall Groves vs. Evan Tanner?

other than that.. I dunno who.

I’d love to see Cote back in action in the summer… his injury was about about a month ago so he’ll resume training very soon

If not Cote then maybe against Leben, Grove, or Dean Lister?

[quote comment=”370851″]Great news. Sucked to see him lose to Okami. But Okami is a great fighter. Evan could have come back and fought some can at the bottom of the heap, instead went straight to the top. Hopefully he’ll get back to his winning ways come this summer.[/quote]
True…On the plus side, by jumping back in at the deepend he knows kind of where he stands….Behind Spider like the rest of em lol.

[quote comment=”370869″]Tanner knows who his opponent is, so I wouldn’t be surpised if the word got out pretty quickly on who his opponent will be. He isn’t exactly the best at keeping secrets…

Like Joey said, I applaud Tanner for stepping up to fight Okami immediately. It was a very difficult test that he was unable to pass. He will now be starting out towards the bottom, but since he is STILL Evan Tanner, I don’t think that he will be starting out at the very bottom. Meaning, he will not be fighting the likes of a Charles McCarthy. Rather, I see his next fight being against someone that has a reconginable name, but not too much experience. Possibly vs Kendall Grove, Drew McFedries, Terry Martin, or the winner/loser of Khalib vs Quarry. I don’t see the UFC bringing in some no name new guy to fight Tanner just to get a win under his belt. At Tanner’s age and state of mind, he can’t be wasting time with completely insignificant fights.[/quote]
On the Kendall Grove thing…What if he loses his next fight? Think he’ll be relegated to the undercards!

[quote comment=”370885″]Patrick Cote vs. Evan Tanner anybody?
Kendall Groves vs. Evan Tanner?

other than that.. I dunno who.[/quote]

I think that a Cote vs Leben rematch should be in the works right now. Its a fight that needs to happen.

I think that Cote is actually a bit too high in the division right now. Him fighting Tanner would actually be a step down. Cote is only one to two wins away from fighting in a #1 contender fight in my opinion.

….and don’t even wanna know what Evan’s chomping on in that pic lol!

I wouldn’t mind seeing him fight Grove. I don’t like that lanky bastard lol.

Michael Bisping.

He said in the summer, could be july august. Plenty of time for Bisping. They want to built Bisping in the division as a contender so they feed him McCarthy and then make a big deal about a Tanner fight, the marketing is there for that

“The last two weeks have been really rough. I’ll tell the story on that in the next few days.”

Is it just me or this guy kind of a drama queen? First the whole alcohol thing… now this? what does this guy want from his fans? sympathy?

[quote comment=”370920″][quote comment=”370885″]Patrick Cote vs. Evan Tanner anybody?
Kendall Groves vs. Evan Tanner?

other than that.. I dunno who.[/quote]

I think that a Cote vs Leben rematch should be in the works right now. Its a fight that needs to happen.

I think that Cote is actually a bit too high in the division right now. Him fighting Tanner would actually be a step down. Cote is only one to two wins away from fighting in a #1 contender fight in my opinion.[/quote]

I agree…a Leben/Cote rematch should happen…they are both coming off some big wins and they’re both bangers. I think it’d be fireworks.

[quote comment=”371030″]”The last two weeks have been really rough. I’ll tell the story on that in the next few days.”

Is it just me or this guy kind of a drama queen? First the whole alcohol thing… now this? what does this guy want from his fans? sympathy?[/quote]

Quit being a jerk. Maybe he’s using his high profile status to help reach out to those going through a similar situation to help inspire them to get help. He suffers from a disease and I doubt he’s embelishing how tough the battle is. He could be seen as an inspiration to some people and he should be commended for speaking out about his problems and facing them head on.

he should fight kendall grove. im a big fan a kendall mainly cuz he’s from hawaii like me, but for a tall guy he doesnt kno how to use his reach at all.

I sent u this at 6am this morning. U guys fail

there is grove, mcfredries, cote, eastman, martin there are some guys out there, i just hope he fights on the vegas card this summer

I would like to see Bisping man up and face Tanner if he is able to get past mr. Tuppaware at UFC 83. I wouldnt count on it though, seeing as though Bisping isnt exactly known for testing himself against the best fighters. If Bisping is serious about making some noise at middleweight, beating Tanner will gain him some of the respect back that he lost from fans.

Tanner vs Chris Lebn or Ed Herman

[quote comment=”370969″]Michael Bisping.

He said in the summer, could be july august. Plenty of time for Bisping. They want to built Bisping in the division as a contender so they feed him McCarthy and then make a big deal about a Tanner fight, the marketing is there for that[/quote]
i like this match-up as well, but unlike most of the posters here i think tanner is just gonna be a stepping stone from here on out. he,s got all the heart in the world, but sometimes that just ain’t enough. i think bisping would win an easy decision. could be some fireworks in this one though.

im also starting to see people call okami a great fighter now. why? i think he is a very good fighter, but not a great fighter. he lost to rich, beat mcdonald in boring fight and imo didnt dominate swick as much as alot of people think. swick looked better against okami than burkman. i’m not saying that okami is overated, but i consider a. silva to be a great fighter.

Is that Tanner bitting into a purple tampon.

What about Tanner vs Jeremy Horn? Ehh… sounds pretty good to me.

Tanner Vesus Leben!

[quote comment=”371325″]What about Tanner vs Jeremy Horn? Ehh… sounds pretty good to me.[/quote]

That isnt a bad idea! Horn looked much better in a loosing effort against Marquardt than I expected. let these 2 face off, winner has a shot at a comeback!

Imagine another TUF the comeback show? They coulod have crazy evann Tanner on there, then again he would probably drink the house dry in the 1st night. Throw Horn in the house as well. All they need is 14 more fighters.

I really like the Cote/Leben rematch idea.. good call on that one guys.

Bisping vs. Tanner.. would be a very good fight for both men.

Maybe it will be Gideon Ray vs. Evan Tanner, you know just a stepping stone to get Evan’s name back out.

But if he already knows who his opponent is, then it cant be Bisping.

Here is the list of people that could fight Evan at 185:

Patrick Cote
Chris Leben
Marvin Eastman
Kendall Grove
Dean Lister
Terry Martin
Alessiso Sakara

My Vote goes to Marvin Eastman.

[quote comment=”371549″]I really like the Cote/Leben rematch idea.. good call on that one guys.

Bisping vs. Tanner.. would be a very good fight for both men.

Maybe it will be Gideon Ray vs. Evan Tanner, you know just a stepping stone to get Evan’s name back out.

But if he already knows who his opponent is, then it cant be Bisping.

Here is the list of people that could fight Evan at 185:

Patrick Cote
Chris Leben
Marvin Eastman
Kendall Grove
Dean Lister
Terry Martin
Alessiso Sakara

My Vote goes to Marvin Eastman.[/quote]

I like your list and I believe that it is accurate. However I hope to never see the boogy man fighting in mma again. I hate him as an mma fighter and I wish he would just stick to grappling.

[quote comment=”371040″][quote comment=”371030″]”The last two weeks have been really rough. I’ll tell the story on that in the next few days.”

Is it just me or this guy kind of a drama queen? First the whole alcohol thing… now this? what does this guy want from his fans? sympathy?[/quote]

Quit being a jerk. Maybe he’s using his high profile status to help reach out to those going through a similar situation to help inspire them to get help. He suffers from a disease and I doubt he’s embelishing how tough the battle is. He could be seen as an inspiration to some people and he should be commended for speaking out about his problems and facing them head on.[/quote]

I second that. Totally disrespectful post.

[quote comment=”371750″][quote comment=”371040″][quote comment=”371030″]”The last two weeks have been really rough. I’ll tell the story on that in the next few days.”

Is it just me or this guy kind of a drama queen? First the whole alcohol thing… now this? what does this guy want from his fans? sympathy?[/quote]

Quit being a jerk. Maybe he’s using his high profile status to help reach out to those going through a similar situation to help inspire them to get help. He suffers from a disease and I doubt he’s embelishing how tough the battle is. He could be seen as an inspiration to some people and he should be commended for speaking out about his problems and facing them head on.[/quote]

I second that. Totally disrespectful post.[/quote]
I agree as well. Anyone who has battled addiction will respect, and appreciate how open he is about his issues, and be inspired by his victories outside the cage! Now if he can just get it back inside the cage. I don’t see him ever beating A.S. but he should be better next time out.

Wow… I like how I totally get bashed for calling out this guy whos acting like his fans are his psychiatrist/bartender, when theres dozens of people calling sean sherk, mirko cro cop and shogun rua roid freaks for no reason and with no evidence. Nobody is really hating on these “doctors” who seem to know everything about sports medicine. At least I have something to go off of, everytime I read an article about this guy hes drowling on about his alcohol abuse or whatever.

Nobody wants to hear that shit from a guy who is supposed to be a tough, disciplined, fighter. Do you hear anybody who is on top of their weight class complaining about their issues? (besides Pahlo Fihlo or however you spell it) Evan Tanner needs to focus on training more and focus less on interviewing/blogging about his personal problems. Telling the world about his alcohol abuse is not going to win him fights.