BRAWLEY, Calif. (Sept. 9) - Ultimate Fighting Championship star Evan Tanner has died in the desert east of San Diego, possibly of heat exposure.
Recent Deaths in SportsZuma Press63 photos Evan Tanner, Sept. 8: The former UFC middleweight champion, seen here in 2006, went missing in a California desert and was found dead by the Imperial County Sheriff Department. He was only 37.(Note: Please disable your pop-up blocker)
Sports Deaths in 2008
Evan Tanner, Sept. 8: The former UFC middleweight champion, seen here in 2006, went missing in a California desert and was found dead by the Imperial County Sheriff Department. He was only 37.


Sheriff's Lt. George Moreno says the 37-year-old Tanner was found Monday about two miles from his campsite in a remote area of the Palo Verdes Mountains, where temperatures had reached 110 degrees. Moreno says a preliminary coroner's report suggests Tanner died of heat exposure.
Tanner left for the desert last week to go camping and motorcycle riding.
His agent, John Hayner, says Tanner called a friend on Wednesday to say the dirt bike had run out of gas. He was about 100 miles from the nearest town.
Tanner is a former UFC champion middleweight. He lost his last bout in June.