Evan Tanner states “I am setting a date,” referring to the fact that he is quitting his alcohol drinking and wants to step back in the octagon once again. Tanner is a former UFC Middleweight Champion and former USWF Heavyweight Champion with an impressive MMA record of 32-6. Tanner lost his belt to Rich Franklin at UFC 53 and only fought two more times before he left the UFC for alcohol.
Tanner continues to emphasize the fact that he will come back to the UFC once again. Earlier this year, Dana White said that Evan Tanner was more than welcome to come into the octagon whenever he felt that he was ready and many fans will await his return.
This is what Tanner posted in his blog on October 1st @ myspace.com:
I am setting a date.
I have been drinking like a madman for fifteen years.
I am done with it.
I am setting a date.
It
has ruined my career. It has ruined my health. I have lost the respect
of my peers. I have lost my family. I have lost so many friends. I have
lost the women I have loved. I have been arrested, wrecked cars, spent
nights in jail, gotten in fights, gambled and drunk away hundreds of
thousands of dollars, raged like a beast, talked like a fool. I lost my
home, gone deep into debt, ruined my credit, and now I’m at risk of
losing the last few things I own. I have destroyed my life. All because
of drinking. I have made so many mistakes. I have disappointed so many
who believed in me. Embarrassed so many who loved me. Almost everything
bad that can be said about a man, has been said about me.
I am done with it.
I am setting a date.
There
will be those of you who understand me, who will hear me. There will be
those who laugh, and ridicule. I am willing to bear the weight of that
if any of these words might reach anyone, might have meaning to anyone,
if this vision might give hope to anyone.
I choose to Believe
I
will always believe there is some magic out there. I will always
believe there is some magic within me. If we stop believing, our
spirits die. I refuse to let my spirit die.
I choose to Believe.
I am setting a date.
I
am setting a date, and on that day I will stop drinking. That will be
the day I begin to be a better man. That will be the day I begin to
find the best of me. That will be the day I begin to find the best of
what life can be. I want to find the magic. Join me. If you want to
make a change in your life, join me. If any of you want to find the
best of yourself, join me. If you want to find your own magic, join me.
I am going to quit drinking, get back into training, and step into the
Octagon again, and when I do, it will be dedicated to all of you who
have the courage to believe in the best of what you can be, all of you
who have the courage to stand up with me and face your fears and
weaknesses. We will stand shoulder to shoulder, an unconquerable army.
BELIEVE in what you can do, and it will happen.
I am setting a date.
It
has been said that I am done, that I will never fight again. It has
been said that I have no chance of ever being a champion again. I
refuse to accept that. I challenge you to believe in yourself. I
challenge you to do what they say can not be done. Join this army of
unconquerable souls.
I choose to believe.
I am setting a date.
Evan Tanner’s BLOG
