It seems so strange that my last update to this website was about Evan Tanner and now here I am thinking about him passing away so tragically and suddenly…

 So many things could be said about him and they have been elsewhere…His fighting career, his character, his warrior philosophy, his free spirit, how kind he was to his fans and a plethora of other personal attributes that he carried through his journey in life have been stated in other places much more eloquently than I ever could…

I was lucky enough to have spent time with him in Muncie, IN that weekend in May…I remember when we were all sitting at breakfast with him after the fights there, we were chattering away about a whole variety of things…One of the many stories he told that night really sticks in my head…

He had said that at some time in his fight career, I think around when he was wearing the UFC middleweight belt, he was in the VIP section of a very exclusive, very posh club…After a while, he went out a back door or a side door to get some air and noticed a homeless guy standing outside there…So, he promptly pulled this guy into the VIP section of the club, sat him down, ordered him a drink and proceeded to talk with him…Hahahaha…Needless to say, the management of the club was NOT having any of that at all…

 But the little I knew personally of Evan was encapsulated in that story…He was the kind of guy that would take someone who had been out on the streets and give them a chance to come inside, warm up, have a seat, and talk a while…

Even if it meant he would get thrown out in the process…

 I only wish I could have gotten to know him better and spent more time hearing all the millions of stories I’m sure he had…

I found these pics in my phone today from going out to eat after training that Sunday and the introspective look on his face in the second one almost tells a story in and of itself…

RIP Evan, and as Kyria said, “this sport has lost something today that no one can ever replace…”

I had the opportunity to travel to Muncie, IN back in May and help Evan Tanner sell some of his Team Tanner shirts (available at www.evantanner.net ) at a fight under the Iron Warrior Fight League promotion(www.ironwarriorfights.com )…

Great people all around working for that promotion and they did an excellent job of putting on solid fights…

 Evan recently posted on his blog at: www.spike.com/profile/Evan_Tanner about the event and it was very nice for him to have thanked Dan and I for helping to sell his shirts that evening….

Evan has a fervently strong fan following in MMA and after spending a little time around him, it’s easy to see why…He is a very genuine person who has been through a myriad of life experiences…All in all, a true “fighter’s fighter” and a totally cool guy…Here’s a few of the pics from that blog…

Evan & Dan signing autographs while I try to look important, too…

If you know Dan, this look is NO surprise…

Dan & I rocking the Team Tanner shirts…

There are a bunch more pics on Evan’s blog…The next day after the fights we headed to Indianapolis to train at Integrated where Jake O’Brien and Chris Lytle train…I didn’t get a chance to train that day due to a small injury, but the fellas went after it pretty good…We made it up to Muncie again this last weekend and Matt, Kassie & Missy once again did a bang-up job with the fights and their promotion…

So, as usual, it’s been months since my last update on this site!!…I need to get on here more often, but to do that, I need to get some new pics…

I realized I did have a few pics from Dan’s AFL win (by armbar in less than a minute in the 1st round) in Atlanta a while ago that I wanted to put up…

Several of the pics are from www.georgiamma.com as well…

And the KITSURA shirts you see us wearing in the pics are going to be available soon as part of a full clothing line…

Check out www.kitsura.com for those…

Sitting in the hotel….

Pre-fight pyro…

Jake O’Brien enjoying some food…

Action in the cage…

The winner…

Dan tells us a story…

Locker room post-fight…

Jake O’Brien, Dan, Jake’s coach (Pat from Integrated Fighting in Indianapolis) & I…

So, since it’s been a while, I thought I’d put some more current training pics up…I’m still going at it full-time under Dan’s auspices and I’ll be back in the cage before too long…I’ll be doing some boxing, submission wrestling, and kickboxing matches prior to that for some more experience, though…

 Check out his website at: www.danthesandman.com

From MMAJunkie.com…

“American Fight League: ERUPPTION” Live Results

by Dann Stupp [mmajunkie] on Mar 07, 2008 at 6:30 pm in – News -

LEXINGTON, Ky. — MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) is on scene for tonight’s American Fight League “ERUPPTION” event at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky.

Join us for live updates and official results as a host of former UFC fighters — including Rory Singer, Dan Christison and Junior Assuncao — compete on the night’s main card. Additionally, former UFC lightweight Diego Saraiva fights for the AFL’s first-ever 155-lb. title, and featherweight Rafael Assuncao hopes to improve upon his top-10 world ranking.

The night’s first fight starts at approximately 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.

Blizzard-like conditions throughout the region have event organizers on standby, but a steady trickle of fans began filing through the doors once they opened at 7 p.m.

Tonight’s event is being filmed for possible future broadcast, but it’s not airing live.
—————————————————————————————————————————
 DAN CHRISTISON (10-6) VS. JOHN LEBLANC (1-7)

ROUND 1 — The big men throw some haymakers early before Christison pins his opponent against the cage. LeBlanc tosses Christison to the mat and connects on some punches as he gets back to his feet. Christison then unloads some leg kicks that wobble LeBlanc. The two men now stand and trade, and LeBlanc takes exception to his opponent’s leg kicks. Christison answers with a couple jabs and a few belly shots. They clinch again against the fence, and Christison works knees to the body and when LeBlanc creates some distance, they trade some more haymakers. As the round comes to a close, Christison scores the single-leg takedown and rains down some elbows before the bell sounds.

ROUND 2 — LeBlanc lands a body kick early, and then he trades leg kicks with Christison. Christison swarms in for the single-leg takedown, rattling the cage as he lands in half guard. Christison works to side mount and works some ground and pound and then elbows to the midsection. Christison then moves into full mount and rains down punch after punch. LeBlanc tries to roll to give up his back, and but Christison continues the assault, and the ref has seen enough.

Dan Christison def. John LeBlanc via TKO (strikes) — Round 2.