James Moontasri

James Moontasri
Born (1988-04-10) April 10, 1988 (age 36)
Frankfurt, Germany
Other namesMoonwalker
NationalityAmerican
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[1]
Weight170 lb (77 kg; 12 st)
DivisionLightweight
Welterweight
Reach71.0 in (180 cm)[1]
StyleTaekwondo
Fighting out ofLos Angeles, California, United States
TeamBlackhouse
Rank5th dan black belt in Taekwondo[2]
Black belt in Muay Thai[2]
Brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu[2]
Years active2008; 2011-2018
Mixed martial arts record
Total14
Wins9
By knockout4
By submission3
By decision2
Losses5
By submission1
By decision4
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

James Moontasri (Thai: เจมส์ มูลทาศรี; born April 10, 1988) is a retired German-born American mixed martial artist who competes in the Welterweight division. Moontasri has competed in RFA and is currently signed with the UFC.[3][4][5][6] James was also a silver medalist at the 2007 Pan American Games in taekwondo, 2007 USA Tae Kwon Do Male Athlete of the Year, and 2x USA Tae Kwon Do National Champion. He holds the rank of Brown Belt in Jiu Jitsu from Franklin Aguirre and Brandon Bender (James received his Blue Belt and Purple Belt from John Machado.)[7][8]

Early life

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Moontasri was born in Frankfurt, Germany to a Korean American mother and a Thai American military father.[9][10]

Mixed martial arts career

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Resurrection Fighting Alliance

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With a 4–1 mixed martial arts record, Moontasri made his RFA debut on August 16, 2013, facing R.J. Clifford at RFA 9: Munhoz vs. Curran. He won the bout via third round TKO.[11] In his next fight, he faced Rick Reger at RFA 12: Ortega vs. Koch on January 24, 2014, submitting Reger via a rear-naked choke in the second round.[12]

For his third appearance with the promotion, Moontasri faced Jordan Rinaldi at RFA 15: Casey vs. Sanchez on June 6, 2014.[13] He won the bout via second round KO, and just a couple weeks later, it was announced that Moontasri had signed with the UFC.[14]

Ultimate Fighting Championship

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After his win over Rinaldi, Moontasri was picked up by the UFC and faced fellow promotional newcomer Joe Ellenberger at UFC Fight Night: Swanson vs. Stephens on June 28, 2014.[15] Despite hurting Ellenberger in the first round, he would rally in the second and third rounds and Moontasri lost via split decision.[16] 8 of 11 media outlets scored the bout for Moontasri, while 3 scored a draw.[17]

He was then scheduled to face Jake Lindsey at UFC Fight Night: Henderson vs. Thatch on February 14, 2015. However, Lindsey pulled out of the bout because of an injury and was replaced by promotional newcomer Cody Pfister.[18] Moontasri was dominate in the fight, finishing Pfister with a rear-naked choke in the second round.[19]

Moontasri faced Kevin Lee on July 15, 2015 at UFC Fight Night 71.[20] He lost the fight via submission in the first round.[21]

Moontasri was expected to face Brendan O'Reilly in a welterweight bout on November 15, 2015 at UFC 193, filling in for an injured William Macário.[22] Subsequently, O'Reilly pulled out of the fight in the week leading up to the event citing injury and was replaced by promotional newcomer Anton Zafir.[23] He won the fight via TKO in the first round.[24]

Moontasri next faced Alex Oliveira on July 23, 2016 at UFC on Fox 20.[25] He lost the one-sided fight via unanimous decision.[26]

Moontasri was expected to face Alex Morono on October 15, 2016 at UFC Fight Night 97.[27] However, the promotion announced on October 6 that they had cancelled the event entirely.[28][29] In turn, the pairing was quickly rescheduled and eventually took place on December 17, 2016 at UFC on Fox 22.[30] Moontasri lost the fight by unanimous decision.[31]

Mixed martial arts record

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Professional record breakdown
14 matches 9 wins 5 losses
By knockout 4 0
By submission 3 1
By decision 2 4
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Loss 9–5 Alex Morono Decision (unanimous) UFC on Fox: VanZant vs. Waterson December 17, 2016 3 5:00 Sacramento, California, United States
Loss 9–4 Alex Oliveira Decision (unanimous) UFC on Fox: Holm vs. Shevchenko July 23, 2016 3 5:00 Chicago, Illinois, United States
Win 9–3 Anton Zafir TKO (spinning back kick and spinning back fist) UFC 193 November 15, 2015 1 4:36 Melbourne, Australia Welterweight debut.
Loss 8–3 Kevin Lee Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC Fight Night: Mir vs. Duffee July 15, 2015 1 2:56 San Diego, California, United States
Win 8–2 Cody Pfister Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC Fight Night: Henderson vs. Thatch February 14, 2015 2 1:49 Broomfield, Colorado, United States Catchweight (158 lbs) bout; Moontasri missed weight.
Loss 7–2 Joe Ellenberger Decision (split) UFC Fight Night: Swanson vs. Stephens June 28, 2014 3 5:00 San Antonio, Texas, United States
Win 7–1 Jordan Rinaldi KO (punch) RFA 15: Casey vs. Sanchez June 6, 2014 2 1:14 Culver City, California, United States Catchweight (160 lbs) bout; Moontasri missed weight.
Win 6–1 Rick Reger Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) RFA 12: Ortega vs. Koch January 24, 2014 2 0:28 Los Angeles, California, United States
Win 5–1 R.J. Clifford TKO (punches) RFA 9: Munhoz vs. Curran August 16, 2013 3 2:40 Los Angeles, California, United States
Loss 4–1 Darren Smith Decision (split) FCOC: Fight Club OC June 6, 2013 3 5:00 Costa Mesa, California, United States
Win 4–0 Joshua Aveles Decision (unanimous) RITC: Respect in the Cage August 25, 2012 3 5:00 Pomona, California, United States
Win 3–0 Joshua Aveles Decision (unanimous) RITC: Respect in the Cage November 19, 2011 3 5:00 Pomona, California, United States
Win 2–0 Tim Lindsay KO (punch) Gladiator Challenge: Hostile April 22, 2011 1 0:56 San Jacinto, California, United States
Win 1–0 Jade Delong Submission (verbal) GC 83: Savage August 29, 2008 2 0:37 San Bernardino, California, United States

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Fight Card - UFC Fight Night Mir vs. Duffee". UFC.com. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  2. ^ a b c "James Moontasri - Official UFC Fighter Profile". UFC.com. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  3. ^ "RFA 15: Alan Jouban, James Moontasri ready to make name for themselves". Daily News. 5 June 2014. Retrieved 2015-03-08.
  4. ^ "Being Prepared for Any Outcome". USA Taekwondo. Archived from the original on August 11, 2014. Retrieved 2015-03-08.
  5. ^ "Mixed martial arts looks to Southern California hotbed". Los Angeles Times. 2 June 2013. Retrieved 2015-03-08.
  6. ^ "James Moontasri explains why his game "caught on fire" ahead of RFA 15". MMA Corner. Archived from the original on 2023-11-10. Retrieved 2015-03-08.
  7. ^ "Cuban Angel Matos wins men's over 80kg class taekwondo title at Pan Am Games". People's Daily. Retrieved 2015-03-08.
  8. ^ "TAEKWONDO: Colorado Springs' Moontasri says he's not afraid of anyone". The Gazette. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-03-08.
  9. ^ "Interview with James Moontasri". 17 December 2015.
  10. ^ "Why You Should be a Fan of Asian UFC Fighter James Moontasri". 17 February 2015.
  11. ^ "Resurrection Fighting Alliance 9 Official Results". mixedmartialarts.com. August 16, 2013.
  12. ^ "Video: Watch the action-packed RFA 12 video highlights". mmajunkie.com. January 25, 2014.
  13. ^ "RFA 15: Alan Jouban, James Moontasri ready to make name for themselves". dailynews.com. June 5, 2014.
  14. ^ "Welcome to the UFC Montano, Bush, Moontasri, Howell". bloodyelbow.com. June 24, 2014.
  15. ^ "Joe Ellenberger loses another opponent, now meets James Moontasri at UFC Fight Night 44". mmajunkie.com. June 18, 2014.
  16. ^ "UFC Fight Night 44 results: Joe Ellenberger wins debut by split decision over James Moontasri". mmamania.com. June 28, 2014.
  17. ^ "Joe Ellenberger def JamesMoontasri". mmadecisions.com. Retrieved 2015-07-14.
  18. ^ "Newcomer Cody Pfister replaces Jake Lindsey at UFC Fight Night 60". mmajunkie.com. January 26, 2015.
  19. ^ "UFC Fight Night 60 results, photos: James Moontasri chokes out Cody Pfister". mmajunkie.com. February 14, 2015.
  20. ^ Tristen Critchfield (2015-04-25). "Kevin Lee vs. James Moontasri added to UFC Fight Night in San Diego". sherdog.com. Retrieved 2015-04-25.
  21. ^ Dann Stupp (2015-07-15). "UFC Fight Night 71 results: Kevin Lee submits James Moontasri with first-round choke". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2015-07-15.
  22. ^ Emma Challands (2015-09-21). "Brendan O'Reilly gets new opponent in James Moontasri for UFC 193". fightnewsaustralia.com. Retrieved 2015-09-21.
  23. ^ Alex Oates (2015-11-06). "UFC 193: Zafir gets his chance after O'Reilly forced out". heraldsun.au. Retrieved 2015-11-06.
  24. ^ Brent Brookhouse (2015-11-14). "UFC 193 results: James Moontasri doubles up on spinning stuff to stop Anton Zafir in first". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2015-11-14.
  25. ^ Staff (2016-04-04). "UFC on Fox 20 update: 4 bouts confirmed for July 23 Card in Chicago". sherdog.com. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  26. ^ Steven Marrocco (2016-07-23). "UFC on FOX 20 results: Alex Oliveira dominates James Moontasri to take wide decision". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2016-07-23.
  27. ^ Staff (2016-09-03). "Moontasri vs. Morono, Yang vs. Janes announced for UFC Fight Night 97". themmareport.com. Retrieved 2016-09-03.
  28. ^ Staff (2016-10-06). "UFC Fight Night Manila: Lamas vs. Penn to be rescheduled". ufc.com. Retrieved 2016-10-06.
  29. ^ Staff (2016-10-06). "After B.J. Penn's withdrawal, UFC cancels next week's UFC Fight Night 97 event in Philippines". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2016-10-06.
  30. ^ Brian Martin (2016-10-17). "James Moontasri vs. Alex Morono added to UFC on Fox 22". whittierdailynews.com. Retrieved 2016-10-17.
  31. ^ Ben Fowlkes (2016-12-17). "UFC on FOX 22 results: Alex Morono rallies, finishes in dominant form against James Moontasri". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2016-12-17.
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