Tanner, a former Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight and a United States Wrestling Federation heavyweight champion, had driven to the area on an offroad motorcycle and was going camping, Moreno said. His friends, who had been sending him text messages, said he left Oceanside on Wednesday.

The body was found several miles from a campsite that was located Sunday in the Clapp Springs area of the Palo Verde mountains, where authorities found Tanner's motorcycle and some of his equipment, Moreno said. Temperatures in the area were very high during the weekend, topping out at 114 on Sunday, Moreno said.

Tanner chronicled the preparations for his trip on his blog at Spike.com.

I'm hoping that very soon I'll be sitting out in the quiet of the desert beneath a deep blue midnight sky, listening to the calm desert breeze. The idea going into the desert came to me soon after I moved to Oceanside. It was motivated by my friend Sara's talk of treasure hunting and lost gold, and my own insatiable appetite for adventure and exploration. I began to imagine what might be found in the deep reaches of the untracked desert. It became an obsession of sorts.

When friends again became concerned, he posted this:

It seems some MMA websites have reported on the story, posting up that I might die out in the desert, or that it might be my greatest opponent yet, etc. Come on guys. It's really common down in southern California to go out to the off road recreation areas in the desert about an hour away from LA and San Diego. So my plan is to go out to the desert, do some camping, ride the motorcycle, and shoot some guns. Sounds like a lot of fun to me. A lot of people do it. This isn't a version of "Into the Wild". I'm not going out into the desert with a pair of shorts and a bowie knife, to try to live off the land. I'm going fully geared up, and I'm planning on having some fun.

Tanner's MMA record was 32-8, with the highlight being his win over David Terrell to become middleweight champion at UFC 51 on Super Bowl weekend in 2005. He lost the championship to Rich Franklin at UFC 53.

Evan Tanner Dead At Age 37 [Watch Kalib Run]
Body In Mountain Area THought To Be Martial Arts Fighter's [San Diego Union Tribune]

The original plan [for EliteXC] was to have a primetime fight every other month.

But reportedly, the network was shocked by how badly the last fight, called "Unfinished Business," did in the ratings.

Despite a poor showing, CBS apparently does not want to give up on the idea of turning the sometime savage mixed martial arts into primetime fare.

Rumors have also resurfaced that CBS is once again in talks with UFC - the first and better-known of the competing fight leagues - to take over the timeslot.

EliteXC would almost certainly die without CBS, and UFC would add another vehicle to their already-impressive suite of programming, including their regular Pay-per-View events and their Ultimate Fighter reality show on cable's Spike TV. They have the buzz, they have the demographic. All they need are a few more athlete arrests and they can take their rightful place in the mainstream sports landscape.

CBS May Dump EliteXC For UFC[FanNation]

UFC Could Take Over Elite XC Spot On CBS [MMA News.com]

Friday Night Fright [NY Post]

From Craigslist:

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson Shredded Tire from Chase. Small pieces. Will send pics to serious inquiries. My co-workers and I were driving back from lunch Tuesday, and almost got hit by this big a** truck being chased. His front tire landed in front of our car as pulled over to let the cops do there thing. If your out of town, you will need to pay for shipping costs.

Is it safe to say that the seller is not Hooked on Phonics?

Meanwhile, Jackson's mug shot was obtained by TMZ, and might look good framed next to your Official Piece Of Tire. They also have a video of the arrest.

MMA Memorabilia: Pieces of Quinton “Rampage” Jackson Toyo Tire on Craigslist [CageToday]
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson Shredded Tire from Chase — $20 (Newport Beach) [Craigslist]

Driving with a flat tire believed to have been damaged in an earlier accident on the 55 Freeway, Jackson was seen talking on his cellphone, crossing street dividers and twice driving onto sidewalks that "caused pedestrians to dive out of the way," Dondero said. "He was ignoring sirens, and ran several red lights before finally being detained," with a shredded tire at 18th Street and Newport Boulevard in Newport Beach.

Dondero said there was no evidence of alcohol or drugs contributing to Jackson's driving. "Why he did it, I don't know," Dondero said.

Story of the photos you see above and below: This guy sees Rampage Jackson being arrested in front of his house, and within moments he's on a UFC message board telling everyone, and then his photos show up on TMZ about an hour later. What an awesome technological world we live in.

And who would have thought that losing to Forrest Griffin would have begun such a dramatic downward spiral?

UFC's Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson Is Arrested [Los Angeles Times]
Rampage: Terror Outside The Ring [TMZ]

Here's a clip of him as a high school football player making a pivotal sack then going over to the sideline and headbutting a helmeted teammate with his bare head. Nice one, Destro.

The reason for this little trip down memory shame is that Michael Jackson extricated himself from whichever alternative Candy Land-like universe he exists to attend last weekend's UFC 84 throwdown. Yes, that shadowy figure wearing the burka and the giant sunglasses trying to remain invisible is Michael Jackson.

Does this help or hurt UFC's image? Either Michael has started taking Brazilian jiu-jitsu lessons on the side or he just really, really enjoys watching shirtless young men crawl all over each other without fear of any kind of legal repercussions.

I choose ... B.

Michael Jackson Loves The UFC [WWTDD]
Michael Jackson Loves UFC, Hates Being Seen [AOL Fanhouse]

We can't possibly thank With Leather enough for digging up this clip of UFC star Chuck Liddell — just hours after his title-belt loss to that Rampaging Jackson fellow — enjoying himself considerably. What's not to love about Chuck Liddell? Nothin'!

Chuck Liddell Is Inconsolable [With Leather]

We're not inherent UFC fans, but we understand the appeal, and jeez, the damned thing's on the cover of SI these days. If you've ever watch a Pay-Per-View, you'll probably enjoy this parody; we think this fight might be rather fun to watch, actually.

And then, as tends to happen when the spotlight is brightest, UFC had one of its worst weekends, with its golden boy — and only in the UFC would a guy who looks like Chuck Lidell ever be referred to as a "golden boy" — showing up to his weigh-in looking tubby and, worse, being knocked out by a stray punch that didn't look nearly as decapacitating "painful" as it probably was. The last couple of weeks have been full of mainstream media coverage that declared UFC as more exciting, more honest and safer than boxing. But a lot of people who tuned in for the first time on Saturday had to wonder what all the fuss is about.

Rampage + Chuck Liddell Photos from UFC 71 Weigh In - He Looked Fat [beRecruited SportsWrap]
Rampage Jackson Will Knock You Out And Hump Your Leg [Deadspin]

(UPDATE: That video is dead... but you can see it here. You should probably hurry.)

For the first time since Royce Gracie was wrestling Ken Shamrock, I actually ended up watching part of the UFC shindig last night, including the Rampage Jackson vs. Chuck Liddell main event. It seemed a little anti-climactic to me, but in an event of this nature, with weeks of hype preceding it, maybe that can't be helped. It was 112 seconds of nothing, and then 1 second of Chuck Liddell being punched.

Just so it's not a total loss, here's evidence to back up the commentators' claims that Rampage is the best (and possibly horniest) interview in the UFC.

And for a high-quality liveblog of last night's action, put your mouse here.

UFC 71...A liveblog of punch-based athletics [The Blog of Hilarity]

The Spurs lead the series 2-0 and the first two games haven't left a lot of room for intrigue. Tim Duncan's good, Tony Parker's good, and Manu Ginobili's good ... and the Jazz are good, too, but not quite as good as the Spurs. And that's really all there's been to it thus far.

Also happening tonight: UFC 71, featuring Chuck Liddell vs. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. I don't know a lot about this Ultimate Fighting business, but I have seen a hell of a lot of Chuck Liddell this week. And I did enjoy this feature on Page 2.

Jazz Hope 'True Blue' Fans Can Rattle Spurs [CBS 11]
This guy scares you? [ESPN Page 2]

UFC fights don't traditionally get a ton of attention here on Deadspin, and that's probably not going to change anytime soon. Sorry. But I do think you'll enjoy this video of one huge man kicking another huge man really hard in the ear.

Note: You will become annoyed with Joe Rogan harping about the one guy's leg. But stick with it, eventually you'll be rewarded with the sight of a disfigured ankle.

UFC 70: Gabriel Gonzaga Knocks Out Mirko Cro Cop [FanHouse]
UFC 70 - Mirko CROCOP Gets KO'D By Gabriel GONZAGA - FULL KO [YouTube]

"This is really going to change the face of MMA," UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta said. "Literally creating a sport that could be as big around the world as soccer. I liken it somewhat to when the NFC and AFC came together to create the NFL."

The majority owners of the venture are brothers Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, who are eight kinds of crazy ... each. And we like that. Take for instance this totally true resolution clause in their ownership contract:

"In order to resolve a Deadlock among the LLC Members, Frank and Lorenzo shall engage in a Sport Jiu-Jitsu match under the rules as set forth herein. Those would be three five-minute rounds refereed by UFC president Dana White and decided by submission or points."

Well, OK, Marge Schott had something similar in her ownership agreement with the Reds. But other than that, this is totally unique.

Ultimate Fighting Owners Buy Rival Pride [MSNBC]
Ultimate Fighting Machines [CNNMoney]

But UFC cleaned up its act and has prospered to the point that this weekend's fight between Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz will get more pay-per-view buys than any boxing match this year. UFC is even entering the mainstream, and papers like the Los Angeles Times, which ran an article about UFC by Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, are starting to take notice. Even 60 Minutes did a piece on UFC.

Popularity comes at a price, though, and as far as I'm concerned all the fun has been taken out of UFC. The list of things the UFC guys can't do includes:
• Eye gouging of any kind.
• Biting.
• Hair pulling.
• Throat strikes of any kind, including, without limitation, grabbing the trachea.
• Groin attacks of any kind.
• Putting a finger into any orifice or into any cut or laceration on an opponent.

What a bunch of pussies.

UFC Is Looking At A Bright Future [Los Angeles Times]
UFC Rules [UFC]