Gawker: UFC

Evan Tanner, The Fighting Champion Who Reminded You Of Your Friends

Hamilton Nolan — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 09:39:34 EDT

Longtime ultimate fighter and former UFC middleweight champion Evan Tanner was found dead in the California desert yesterday. He had apparently become stranded without water and succumbed to the heat. Tanner, 37, always looked more like a mountain man or a brooding surfer than a brutal fighter. But he kicked ass with the best of them. He rose to fame along with his sport itself, and his crossover appeal—which was immense—will probably only increase as the full story of his death becomes known. Rest in peace, dude.

Blogger Wrestles World Champion Fighter: Find Out What Happens!

Hamilton Nolan — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 13:47:48 EDT

Alex "Blue States Lose" Blagg is a pretty prototypical New York blogger, except for the fact that he used to wrestle in high school. That bit of athletic glory in his past somehow inspired him to arrange an actual, physical wrestling match with Quentin "Rampage" Jackson, the current Ultimate Fighting Championship champion and honest-to-god badass of the first order [Best Week Ever]. We won't give away who won this battle of equals! The full video is after the jump. Keep in mind that Rampage's favorite technique is called the "Power Bomb":

Officially Played Out: Ultimate Fighting Stories

Hamilton Nolan — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 11:45:01 EST

Hey, you know what would make a great sports trend story? Something about how all that ultimate fighting stuff is getting really popular. Gee, what will it do to boxing? Did you know Senator John McCain once called it "human cockfighting?" But now it's really popular on pay-per-view and stuff? Oh, it all goes along with the rise of mixed martial arts, or MMA to people in-the-know. You could even let some fighter guy actually kick you! It'll be great. Yes, this story needs to be permanently retired until somebody can come up with a new angle for it. Because all people really want to see is ultimate fighters getting knockedafuckout. Like so: