Last tribute to Evan Tanner, the person, not the fighter.

One thing I admired about this guy is his ability to talk. He's one tough motherfucker in the octagon but outside of it, he's a complex guy. He has a lot of memorable lines that could inspire other people. Here are some of my favorites

It is a shame that in this society we've been taught to judge a man's worth by what he owns instead of who he is. Everything is surface, and so few look beyond it. A man will sell his soul, he will lie, cheat and steal, for money. If he has it, he can buy respect. Wear the right clothes, drive the right car, have the right friends, that's all that matters. Our lives are consumed in a selfish, self absorbed quest for possessions, the latest and the best in a never-ending cycle until the day we die. We forget what it means to be truly human. We forget the things that really matter. We lose the magic of what life should be.

I won't live by rules that make no sense to me.

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I will do nothing lightly. When I walk, I will walk heavily. When I fight, I will fight with conviction. When I speak, I will speak strongly. When I feel, I will feel everything. When I love, I will love with everything.

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I'm sitting here in the motel room, flipping through the channels. There's nothing on, nothing I want to watch anyway. Dark crime dramas where someone's been murdered, or someone's been raped, or robbed, or something else screwed up. There was a scene with a body and blood on three channels in a row. Every show seems to be filled with twisted intrigues, lies, deception, murder, rape, something dark. Give me a freaking break. There's enough of it all out there in the world. I try to acknowledge the negative in this world without making the mistake of making it my focus. All the twisted crap in the real world is hard enough to deal with. I definitely don't care to saturate myself with it when I'm trying to relax. I've got enough on my mind.

I don't know. Maybe seeing some of these bad things on TV helps some people feel better about some of the troubles in their own lives.

It's just not my thing.

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"Now you may ask if I regret it, if I would do it differently if I could, if I would take it back. NOT A CHANCE!!!!! I went for it. I put it all on the line. I always will. I knew what the consequences would be if I failed, and I was willing to accept them. So any of you reading who might be feeling a twinge of sympathy, don't. I made my decisions, and I accept the consequences. I'm no victim. And to those who are thinking about preaching at me, don't bother. I won't hear you. I haven't accomplished anything in this life worth remembering by playing it safe. That's boring to me anyway."

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There was a time when I was younger that I didn't know any better than to be a liar, a cheater, and a thief. I have since learned to despise those things. I have had great friendships. I have had great loves. I have been a lover, I have been a son, a brother, and a friend. And I was once a world champion.

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And to think, there are still places in the world where man has not been, where he has left no footprints, where the mysteries stand secure, untouched by human eyes. I want to go to these places, the quiet, timeless, ageless places, and sit, letting silence and solitude be my teachers

And my personal favorite

"Believe in yourself. Believe in your own potential for greatness. Believe that you can change the world. It is something that is within each of us. Believe in the Power of One"

I seriously have never felt this bad for someone that I really don't know personally (Even though he used to reply in my Myspace messages back then). But man, hearing the news that this guy died earlier made me feel down all day. Last tribute for a great man. Rest in peace Evan.