James Moontasri Explained

James Moontasri
Other Names:Moonwalker
Birth Date:10 April 1988
Birth Place:Frankfurt, Germany
Nationality:American
Height:[1]
Weight:170lb
Weight Class:Lightweight
Welterweight
Reach:71inches
Style:Taekwondo
Fighting Out Of:Los Angeles, California, United States
Rank:5th dan black belt in Taekwondo[2]
Black belt in Muay Thai
Brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Years Active:2008; 2011-2018
Mma Kowin:4
Mma Subwin:3
Mma Decwin:2
Mma Subloss:1
Mma Decloss:4
Sherdog:36889

James Moontasri (th|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

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

Mixed martial arts career

Resurrection Fighting Alliance

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

After his win over Rinaldi, Moontasri was picked up by the UFC and faced fellow promotional newcomer Joe Ellenberger at 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 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

|-|Loss|align=center|9–5|Alex Morono|Decision (unanimous)|||align=center|3|align=center|5:00|Sacramento, California, United States| |-|Loss|align=center|9–4 |Alex Oliveira|Decision (unanimous)| ||align=center|3|align=center|5:00|Chicago, Illinois, United States| |-|Win|align=center|9–3 |Anton Zafir|TKO (spinning back kick and spinning back fist) |UFC 193||align=center|1|align=center|4:36|Melbourne, Australia||-|Loss|align=center|8–3 |Kevin Lee|Submission (rear-naked choke)|||align=center|1 |align=center|2:56 |San Diego, California, United States||-|Win|align=center|8–2|Cody Pfister|Submission (rear-naked choke)|||align=center|2|align=center|1:49|Broomfield, Colorado, United States||-|Loss|align=center|7–2|Joe Ellenberger|Decision (split)|||align=center|3|align=center|5:00|San Antonio, Texas, United States||-|Win|align=center|7–1|Jordan Rinaldi|KO (punch)|RFA 15: Casey vs. Sanchez||align=center|2|align=center|1:14|Culver City, California, United States||-|Win|align=center|6–1|Rick Reger|Technical Submission (rear-naked choke)|RFA 12: Ortega vs. Koch||align=center|2|align=center|0:28|Los Angeles, California, United States||-|Win|align=center|5–1|R.J. Clifford|TKO (punches)|RFA 9: Munhoz vs. Curran||align=center|3|align=center|2:40|Los Angeles, California, United States||-|Loss|align=center|4–1|Darren Smith|Decision (split)|FCOC: Fight Club OC||align=center|3|align=center|5:00|Costa Mesa, California, United States||-|Win|align=center|4–0|Joshua Aveles|Decision (unanimous)|RITC: Respect in the Cage||align=center|3|align=center|5:00|Pomona, California, United States||-|Win|align=center|3–0|Joshua Aveles|Decision (unanimous)|RITC: Respect in the Cage||align=center|3|align=center|5:00|Pomona, California, United States||-|Win|align=center|2–0|Tim Lindsay|KO (punch)|Gladiator Challenge: Hostile||align=center|1|align=center|0:56|San Jacinto, California, United States||-|Win|align=center|1–0|Jade Delong|Submission (verbal)|GC 83: Savage||align=center|2|align=center|0:37|San Bernardino, California, United States|

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Fight Card - UFC Fight Night Mir vs. Duffee. UFC.com. July 17, 2015.
  2. Web site: James Moontasri - Official UFC Fighter Profile. UFC.com. July 17, 2015.
  3. Web site: RFA 15: Alan Jouban, James Moontasri ready to make name for themselves. Daily News. 5 June 2014. 2015-03-08.
  4. Web site: Being Prepared for Any Outcome. https://web.archive.org/web/20140811112039/http://www.teamusa.org/usa-taekwondo/features/2014/august/04/being-prepared-for-any-outcome. dead. August 11, 2014. USA Taekwondo. 2015-03-08.
  5. Web site: Mixed martial arts looks to Southern California hotbed. Los Angeles Times. 2 June 2013. 2015-03-08.
  6. Web site: James Moontasri explains why his game "caught on fire" ahead of RFA 15. MMA Corner. 2015-03-08. 2023-11-10. https://web.archive.org/web/20231110091448/http://www.mmafightcorner.com/2014/06/03/james-moontasri-rfa-15/. dead.
  7. Web site: Cuban Angel Matos wins men's over 80kg class taekwondo title at Pan Am Games. People's Daily. 2015-03-08.
  8. Web site: TAEKWONDO: Colorado Springs' Moontasri says he's not afraid of anyone. The Gazette. 2015-03-08. 2015-04-02. https://web.archive.org/web/20150402094855/http://gazette.com/taekwondo-colorado-springs-moontasri-says-hes-not-afraid-of-anyone/article/26344. dead.
  9. Web site: Interview with James Moontasri. 17 December 2015.
  10. Web site: Why You Should be a Fan of Asian UFC Fighter James Moontasri. 17 February 2015.
  11. Web site: Resurrection Fighting Alliance 9 Official Results. mixedmartialarts.com. August 16, 2013.
  12. Web site: Video: Watch the action-packed RFA 12 video highlights. mmajunkie.com. January 25, 2014.
  13. Web site: RFA 15: Alan Jouban, James Moontasri ready to make name for themselves. dailynews.com. June 5, 2014.
  14. Web site: Welcome to the UFC Montano, Bush, Moontasri, Howell. bloodyelbow.com. June 24, 2014.
  15. Web site: Joe Ellenberger loses another opponent, now meets James Moontasri at UFC Fight Night 44. mmajunkie.com. June 18, 2014.
  16. Web site: UFC Fight Night 44 results: Joe Ellenberger wins debut by split decision over James Moontasri. mmamania.com. June 28, 2014.
  17. News: Joe Ellenberger def JamesMoontasri. mmadecisions.com. 2015-07-14.
  18. Web site: Newcomer Cody Pfister replaces Jake Lindsey at UFC Fight Night 60. mmajunkie.com. January 26, 2015.
  19. Web site: UFC Fight Night 60 results, photos: James Moontasri chokes out Cody Pfister. mmajunkie.com. February 14, 2015.
  20. Web site: Kevin Lee vs. James Moontasri added to UFC Fight Night in San Diego. sherdog.com. Tristen Critchfield. 2015-04-25. 2015-04-25.
  21. Web site: UFC Fight Night 71 results: Kevin Lee submits James Moontasri with first-round choke. mmajunkie.com. Dann Stupp. 2015-07-15. 2015-07-15.
  22. Web site: Brendan O'Reilly gets new opponent in James Moontasri for UFC 193. fightnewsaustralia.com. Emma Challands. 2015-09-21. 2015-09-21.
  23. News: UFC 193: Zafir gets his chance after O'Reilly forced out. heraldsun.au. Alex Oates. 2015-11-06. 2015-11-06.
  24. Web site: UFC 193 results: James Moontasri doubles up on spinning stuff to stop Anton Zafir in first. mmajunkie.com. Brent Brookhouse. 2015-11-14. 2015-11-14.
  25. Web site: UFC on Fox 20 update: 4 bouts confirmed for July 23 Card in Chicago. Staff. sherdog.com. 2016-04-04. 2016-04-04.
  26. News: UFC on FOX 20 results: Alex Oliveira dominates James Moontasri to take wide decision. mmajunkie.com. Steven Marrocco. 2016-07-23. 2016-07-23.
  27. News: Moontasri vs. Morono, Yang vs. Janes announced for UFC Fight Night 97. themmareport.com. Staff. 2016-09-03. 2016-09-03.
  28. Web site: UFC Fight Night Manila: Lamas vs. Penn to be rescheduled. ufc.com. Staff. 2016-10-06. 2016-10-06.
  29. Web site: After B.J. Penn's withdrawal, UFC cancels next week's UFC Fight Night 97 event in Philippines. mmajunkie.com. Staff. 2016-10-06. 2016-10-06.
  30. Web site: James Moontasri vs. Alex Morono added to UFC on Fox 22. whittierdailynews.com. Brian Martin. 2016-10-17. 2016-10-17.
  31. Web site: UFC on FOX 22 results: Alex Morono rallies, finishes in dominant form against James Moontasri. Ben Fowlkes. mmajunkie.com. 2016-12-17. 2016-12-17.

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