The UFC has released an official statement regarding the death of UFC middleweight fighter Evan Tanner. Tanner was recently found dead at his campsite after he left for an extended camping stay and did not return text messages to concerned friends.

On what will unquestionably be remembered as one of mixed martial arts’ saddest days, former UFC middleweight champion Evan Tanner - beloved by fans for his fighting ability and by friends for his free spirit – has passed away at the age of 37.

RIP Evan Tanner. You were a great fighter and many people said you were a great person as well.

On Tuesday, September 2nd I sat down with one of the most interesting and controversial fighters in the brief history of mixed martial arts; Matt “The Law” Lindland. There are many who cite him as an intelligent figure in a sport once dubbed “human cockfighting,” and there are many who note him as an Olympic silver medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling, a truly legitimate and phenomenal athlete, who led the way for athletes to come to this sport and flourish.

He appeared on Larry King Live with now-UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock and Presidential hopeful John McCain to discuss the legality of the sport, in its beginnings, and he is truly a warrior in ever sense of the word.

For those who haven’t heard much on Matt’s latest activities, he is currently running for the House of Representatives in the State of Oregon, District 52, and has already won the Republican nomination. He has an upcoming fight with Trevor Prangley on the next Affliction card and he’s cornering everyone from Dan Henderson, in Dan’s fight at UFC 88, to Chael Sonnen, who will fight Paulo Filho for the WEC world middleweight title on September 10th.

This interview has been broken into two parts. In the first, I talked to Matt about his upcoming fights, his thoughts on what’s going on in the fight world right now and his take on a few of the latest matchups. In the second we discussed his political campaign, his personal philosophy and what’s going on right now in his very active business life. Read the full story