Former UFC Champion Evan Tanner was known for teaching himself the art of MMA through books.  Evan had a meteoric rise to claim the UFC championship at 185.

Evan had eventually lost the belt to Rich Franklin, in what seemed to be his downward spiral in the UFC.  Tanner lost three of his next four bouts.

Evan was also known for his changing appearance.  Going from clean cut, to a grizzled mountain man look, to having his hair in braids.  Evan was one of the strangest, but most interesting personalities in all of MMA.

Tanner recently wrote an article talking about his adventure into the desert he was planning on taking.  His plan was to trek out deep into the desert, and survive for a few days.

For Evan's soul cleansing experience, he assured fans that he would have plenty of equipment, but it would still have it's dangers.  Even though it wasn't exactly like an episode of Survivor Man, Evan was in fact trekking deep into the desert.

Before Evan left his camp he told his friends that if they haven't heard from him in a few days to alert authorities.  Tanner's motorcycle had apparently run out of gas, which left Evan walking in 115-118 degree heat.  Officials believed that Evan eventually had succumbed to the heat.

While it is believed that Evan was near the end of his career, I am sure that no one was ready for it to be the end of his life.

Evan Tanner 37, was found dead Monday near Palo Verde, California.