He was, as director Gerard Roxburghs film makes clear over and over, a man of ironies. Hed preach kindness for fellow man, but beat crap out of other people for a living. He became a world champion in his field, yet wanted to become a monk. He found the roundly derided ice-skating movie The Cutting Edge to be brilliant, but liked to kick back with a leather-bound edition of Moby-Dick. He was a smart guy who made some stupid decisions.
You dont have to know Tanners name, much less even care about the sport of MMA, to enjoy Champion, because complicated men and woman make for compelling material, especially those taken before their time. As we learn, Tanner may have sped that process along, downing tequila "like it was Gatorade, making the inevitable all the more tragic.
Once I Was a Champion is currently making the festival rounds. Look out for it. Even non-sports fans like me can appreciate its enigmatic subject and tragic story well-told. Rod Lott