James Moontasri (; born April 10, 1988) is an American retired

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

who competed in the Light and Welterweight divisions. Moontasri competed in

RFA RFA may refer to: Groups, organizations * Radio Free Asia, a private news broadcaster and publisher in East Asia, funded in part by the U.S. government * Renewable Fuels Agency, a former UK renewable fuel regulatory agency * Renewable Fuels A ...

and the

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The larg ...

. James was also a silver medalist at the

2007 Pan American Games The 2007 Pan American Games, officially known as the XV Pan American Games () and commonly known as Rio 2007, were a major Americas, continental multi-sport event that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July 13 to 29, 2007. A total of ...

in Tae Kwon Do, 2007 USA Tae Kwon Do Male Athlete of the Year, and 2x USA Tae Kwon Do National Champion.

Early life

Moontasri was born in

Frankfurt, Germany Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the foreland of the Taunus on its namesake Main, it forms a contin ...

to a Korean-American mother and a Thai-American military father.

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. 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. For his third appearance with the promotion, Moontasri faced

Jordan Rinaldi Jordan Rinaldi (born September 25, 1987) is an American mixed martial artist. He was the welterweight Complete Devastation champion. Rinaldi competed in featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Rinaldi was b ...

at RFA 15: Casey vs. Sanchez on June 6, 2014. He won the bout via second round KO, and just a couple weeks later, it was announced that Moontasri had signed with the

Ultimate Fighting Championship

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. Despite hurting Ellenberger in the first round, he would rally in the second and third rounds and Moontasri lost via split decision. 8 of 11 media outlets scored the bout for Moontasri, while 3 scored a draw. 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 Cody Pfister (born August 7, 1990) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division. A professional competitor since 2009, he has competed for the UFC, Bellator, Shark Fights, King of the Cage, and the Resurrection Fig ...

. Moontasri was dominate in the fight, finishing Pfister with a rear-naked choke in the second round. Moontasri faced

Kevin Lee Kevin Jeese Lee Jr. (born September 4, 1992) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He is currently signed to the Professional Fighters League (PFL), where he competes in the Lightweight division. He formerly competed in the Ultima ...

on July 15, 2015 at

UFC Fight Night 71 ''UFC Fight Night: Mir vs. Duffee'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 71'') was a mixed martial arts event held on July 15, 2015, at Valley View Casino Center in San Diego, California. Background The event was headlined by a heavyweight bout betwe ...

. He lost the fight via submission in the first round. Moontasri was expected to face

Brendan O'Reilly Brendan O'Reilly (14 May 1929 – 1 April 2001) was an Irish Olympic athlete, broadcaster, journalist, actor, singer and songwriter (best known for the 'Ballad of Michael Collins' and the Olympic song, 'Let the Nations Play'. He is best known ...

in a welterweight bout on November 15, 2015 at

UFC 193 ''UFC 193: Rousey vs. Holm'' was a mixed martial arts event held on November 14, 2015, at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Australia. It was the most attended UFC event in the history of the company at the time, with 56,214 people filling the stadiu ...

, filling in for an injured

William Macário William Francisco da Silva Macário (born July 1, 1991) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist currently competing as a welterweight. A professional competitor since 2010, he has formerly competed for the UFC and was a contestant on The Ultimate Fi ...

. 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. He won the fight via TKO in the first round. Moontasri next faced

Alex Oliveira Alex Oliveira (born February 21, 1988) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Welterweight division. He is best known for his tenure fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Born and raised ...

on July 23, 2016 at

UFC on Fox 20 ''UFC on Fox: Holm vs. Shevchenko'' (also known as ''UFC on Fox 20'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on July 23, 2016, at United Center in Chicago, Illinois. Background The event was headlined b ...

. He lost the one-sided fight via unanimous decision. Moontasri was expected to face

Alex Morono Alexander Quincy Morono (born August 16, 1990) is an American professional mixed martial artist who currently fights in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional since 2010, Morono has also fought for Legacy ...

on October 15, 2016 at

UFC Fight Night 97 ''UFC Fight Night: Lamas vs. Penn'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 97'') was a planned mixed martial arts event that was set to be held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on October 15, 2016, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay, Philippines. ...

. However, the promotion announced on October 6 that they had cancelled the event entirely. In turn, the pairing was quickly rescheduled and eventually took place on December 17, 2016 at

UFC on Fox 22 ''UFC on Fox: VanZant vs. Waterson'' (also known as ''UFC on Fox 22'') was a mixed martial arts event promoted by the Ultimate Fighting Championship and held on December 17, 2016, at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. Background After pr ...

. Moontasri lost the fight by unanimous decision.

Mixed martial arts record

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Culver City, California Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. It is mostly surrounded by Los Angeles, but also shares a border with the unincorporated area of Ladera Heights, Californi ...

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Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

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Costa Mesa, California Costa Mesa (; Spanish language, Spanish for "coastal tableland") is a city in Orange County, California, United States. Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to an urban area including ...

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Moontasri, James 1988 births American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Martial artists from Frankfurt Mixed martial artists from California Living people Lightweight mixed martial artists American male mixed martial artists American male taekwondo practitioners American male Muay Thai practitioners American sportspeople of Korean descent American sportspeople of Thai descent American expatriate sportspeople in Germany Taekwondo practitioners at the 2007 Pan American Games Welterweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing taekwondo Mixed martial artists utilizing Muay Thai Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in taekwondo Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters