Former UFC middleweight champion Evan Tanner will be memorialized in a new biopic titled “The Power of 1” with production on the feature film expected to kick off later this year.

The news was first reported by Variety with additional sources confirming the news to MMA Fighting on Wednesday.

Tanner was a stalwart of the UFC in the days before and after the company was purchased by Zuffa in 2001. After competing as a light heavyweight when he started his career, Tanner eventually moved to middleweight where he rattled off several wins in a row including a submission victory over Robbie Lawler that put him into a title fight against David Terrell.

Tanner eventually earned a TKO against Terrell to win the vacant UFC middleweight title.

While Tanner lost the title with his next fight against Rich Franklin, he remained a part of the UFC roster for the next three years taking on opponents such as Yushin Okami, Kendall Grove and Justin Levens.

Sadly, Tanner lost his life in 2008 when he traveled into the desert in California for a camping trip and eventually succumbed to heat exposure.

The new biopic telling Tanner’s life story will be produced by Christopher Scheimann and Olcun Tan with Bobby Razak on board to serve as director after he previously directed a documentary short on the former UFC champion titled “1”.

Razak is well known for his film work in the sport of mixed martial arts including his feature documentary on TapouT co-founder Charles “Mask” Lewis that debuted last year.

Pre-production on “The Power of 1” is expected to kick off later this year with principal photography likely starting in early 2020.