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Evan Tanner | Photo by: Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images The exact circumstances surrounding Evan Tanner’s final days remain a mystery, one that is tackled in the latest episode of VICE’s Dark Side of the Cage series. Tanner, a former UFC middleweight champion, died in September 2008 and was found in the California desert. His official cause of death was heat exposure, though questions still remained around why Tanner decided to take his fateful trip out to Imperial County and how the situation escalated to the point of tragedy. On Wednesday, The Final Days of Evan Tanner explores these questions, and you can watch an exclusive clip from the episode below. Former UFC champion Evan Tanner died in 2008 and questions still remain about exactly what happened on that fateful September day in the California desert.Watch an exclusive clip from @VICETV’s newest episode of “Dark Side of the Cage: The Final Days of Evan Tanner” below.The… pic.twitter.com/I8NGMToFhN— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) January 21, 2025 In the clip, Tanner can be seen calling childhood friend Wade Goldstein, who discovers that Tanner is in a bad situation. However, any attempts to reach Tanner afterwards were unsuccessful, and the worst would soon come to pass. Tanner was a popular UFC fighter during the promotion’s rise in the 2000s. He captured the middleweight title with a first-round TKO of David Terrell at UFC 51, then dropped the belt to Rich Frankling in his first defense. His notable wins include Terrell, Robbie Lawler, Phil Baroni, Elvis Sinosic, and Heath Herring, among others. He was 37 at the time of his death. Dark Side of the Cage: The Final Days of Evan Tanner premieres Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET on VICE TV.

Photo by Dai Sugano/Pool Photo/MediaNews Group/Bay Area News Group via Getty Images Cain Velasquez won’t find out his fate until March after a sentencing hearing for the former UFC heavyweight champion was pushed back from January to March. The 42-year-old retired fighter plead no-contest to a variety of charges including attempted murder after he was arrested back in 2022 following a high-speed chase where he allegedly fired several rounds from a handgun at a car containing Harry Goularte, a man accused of molesting Velasquez’s son at a daycare owned by his mother. A motions hearing for Velasquez is still scheduled for Friday, Jan. 24 but his sentencing and probation hearing is now set for March 24. Velasquez was originally set to stand trial on the charges before he ultimately plead no-contest and he faces a potential penalty anywhere from probation to life in prison, although the latter is highly unlikely given Velasquez’s plea deal with prosecutors. In the original statement addressing Velasquez’s decision to plead no-contest, which basically means he’s accepting punishment in the case without actually admitting guilt, the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s office stated specifically that “he faces prison time.” Velasquez was initially arrested after he fired several rounds from a .40-caliber handgun at the vehicle containing Goularte but ultimately a bullet struck Goularte’s stepfather Paul Bender in the arm. He sustained non-life threatening injuries as a result. When the car chase ended, Velasquez was arrested without incident by the Morgan Hill Police Department and he was hit with a multitude of charges including pre-meditated, attempted murder. Velasquez spent eight months behind bars after he was arrested and denied bail several times before finally being granted his release on $1 million bond. After his release, Velasquez returned to coaching at American Kickboxing Academy and he also made appearances in the professional wrestling circuit. Most recently, Velasquez signed onto serve as the manager of the Dubai team represented in the Global Fight League along with his longtime head coach Javier Mendes.

Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney | Photo by Cris Esqueda/Golden Boy/Getty Images Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney are one step away from throwing down again. The rivals make their return to the ring this May in separate bouts according to an announcement by Saudi Arabian official and boxing promoter Turki Alalshikh. Garcia (24-1, 1 NC) is set to fight former super lightweight champion Rolando Romero (16-2), while Haney (31-0, 1 NC) fights former light welterweight champion Jose Ramirez (29-2). An exact date is still to be determined, with Times Square in New York designated as the location. The event will not be part of Alalshikh’s Riyadh Season project, but instead fall under The Ring banner. Alalshikh recently purchased the long-running boxing magazine. Garcia and Haney have not fought since their grudge match this past April, which was rife with drama. In the buildup to the fight, Garcia exhibited erratic behavior in public and on social media, then missed weight for the bout by over three pounds. That made him ineligible to win Haney’s WBC super lightweight title and resulted in him having to pay Haney $600,000 after Garcia agreed to a pre-fight wager that he would not come in heavy. Fight night brought even more chaos as Garcia scored three knockdowns in the fight en route to a majority decision win over the heavily favored Haney. However, the win was later overturned to a no-contest when Garcia tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug. Garcia was fined $1.1 million and suspended for a year after accepting a plea deal. Haney said Garcia should be banned from competition and he subsequently sued Garcia for battery, fraud, and unjust enrichment. Garcia was recently tied to an exhibition bout with RIZIN’s Rukiya Anpo that was supposed to take place in Japan on Dec. 30, but the bout fell through when Garcia was forced to withdraw due to a wrist injury.

Photo by Amy Kaplan/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images The PFL’s loss could soon become the UFC’s gain. Just days after former Bellator featherweight champion Patricio Pitbull received his release from the PFL along with top contender Aaron Pico hitting free agency following the conclusion of his contract, both fighters could potentially end up on the UFC roster. Pitbull made it clear that it’s UFC or bust for him after vocally expressing his displeasure with the way PFL was treating him following a lengthy layoff with no clear sign about when he would compete again. His disdain towards the promotion eventually led to Pitbull asking for his release and a very public campaign ended with PFL co-founder Donn Davis granting his wish. At 37, Pitbull is undoubtedly in the later stages of his career but his body of work in Bellator is unmatched but it remains to be seen if the UFC is interested in picking him up. “I don’t know,” UFC CEO Dana White said about possibly signing Pitbull during the UFC 311 post-fight press conference. “We’ll talk to the boys about that and we’ll see where we’re at.” White may not have been ready to commit to anything where Pitbull is concerned but that’s not exactly the case when it comes to Pico. The former Olympic wrestling hopeful turned MMA prodigy has long been considered a future champion and he’s currently riding three-fight win streak with a 9-1 record in his past 10 fights with his only loss coming after he suffered a freak shoulder injury in a fight against Jeremy Kennedy in 2022. Pico also has one advantage over Pitbull and that’s his age. At only 28 years old, Pico is arguably just now entering the prime of his career and that’s why White wasn’t afraid to express the UFC’s attraction in possibly signing him to a deal. “I definitely know the boys are interested in him,” White said about Pico. Davis told MMA Fighting during a recent Town Hall appearance that Pico doesn’t actually have any fights left on his contract but the PFL was still trying to re-sign him to a new deal. Unfortunately for the PFL, Pico’s exclusive negotiating window is reportedly closing soon, which means he’ll be able to field offers from any other promotion interesting in signing him. Clearly that includes the UFC and it’s possible that Pico ends up signing there sooner rather than later with hopes to resume his career in the very near future.

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC Renato Moicano may have accepted a title fight at UFC 311 on just 24 hours’ notice, but he actually ended up weighing more than lightweight champion Islam Makhachev by the time they set foot in the octagon to go to battle. On Tuesday, the California State Athletic Commission shared the fight night weights from the athletes competing at UFC 311 with MMA Fighting. In an effort to curb extreme weight cutting, the California commission tracks how much weight fighters are gaining between weigh-ins and fight night with athletes being flagged if they gain more than 10 percent of their body weight, which could lead to a suggestion to potentially consider a change in divisions. A total of 15 fighters competing at UFC 311 broke that 10 percent threshold. Moicano hit the scale on Friday at 155 pounds to make championship weight but then he gained a whopping 26.8 pounds by fight night to weigh 181.8 pounds. While Makhachev wasn’t too far behind, he actually weighed less after making 155 pounds on Friday and then weighing 178 pounds on Saturday. The co-main event fighters also saw significant increases with reigning bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili actually coming in one pound under championship weight at 134 pounds but then gaining 22.8 pounds to weigh 156.8 pounds on fight night. Challenger Umar Nurmagomedov hit the scale at exactly 135 pounds and he gained 21.8 pounds to weigh 156.8 pounds as well at UFC 311. Perhaps the biggest disparity in weight by fight night came in the middleweight bout that opened the main card as Reinier de Ridder hit the scale at 184.5 pounds on Friday and then gained 27.5 pounds by Saturday. The former ONE champion weighed 212 pounds on fight night while Kevin Holland was only 190.4 pounds after he gained just 6.9 pounds after weigh-ins. There were a total of five fighters who gained back 17 percent of their body weight, which was the most gained on the entire card. Here are the full fight night weights for UFC 311 along with the percentage of weighed gained back after weigh-ins for all athletes: Islam Makhachev: 154.5 to 178 pounds (23.5 pounds), 17% Renato Moicano: 155 to 181.8 pounds (26.8 pounds), 17% Merab Dvalishvili: 134 to 156.8 pounds (22.8 pounds), 17% Umar Nurmagomedov: 135 to 156.8 pounds (21.8 pounds), 16% Jiri Prochazka: 204.5 to 208.2 pounds (3.7 pounds), 2% Jamahal Hill: 205.5 to 221.8 pounds (16.3 pounds), 8% Reinier de Ridder: 184.5 to 212 pounds (27.5 pounds), 15% Kevin Holland: 183.5 to 190.4 pounds (6.9 pounds), 4% Raoni Barcelos: 135.5 to 158.2 pounds (22.7 pounds), 17% Payton Talbott: 135.5 to 158.2 pounds (22.7 pounds), 17% Jailton Almeida: 235 to 232.2 pounds (-2.8 pounds), -1% Serghei Spivac: 233 to 234.2 pounds (1.2 pounds), 1% Bogdan Guskov: 205.5 to 214.4 pounds (8.9 pounds), 4% Billy Elekana: 200 to 202.4 pounds (2.4 pounds), 1% Grant Dawson: 156 to 179.4 pounds (23.4 pounds), 15% Diego Ferreira: 156 to 173.2 pounds (17.2 pounds), 11% Azamat Bekoev: 185.5 to 203.2 pounds (17.7 pounds), 10% Zachary Reese: 185.5 to 201 pounds (15.5 pounds), 8% Ailin Perez: 135 to 152.2 pounds (17.2 pounds), 13% Karol Rosa: 135.5 to 154 pounds (18.5 pounds), 14% Muin Gafurov: 136 to 151.8 pounds (15.8 pounds), 12% Rinya Nakamura: 135.5 to 148.6 pounds (13.1 pounds), 10% Bernardo Sopaj: 135 to 147.8 pounds (12.8 pounds), 9% Ricky Turcios: 136 to 156.6 pounds (20.6 pounds), 15% Tagir Ulanbekov: 125.5 to 147.4 pounds (21.9 pounds), 17% Clayton Carpenter: 125.5 to 141.2 pounds (15.7 pounds), 13%