Manuel Alcaraz Tapia (born March 14, 1981) is an American professional

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

fighter currently competing in the

Bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports and weightlifting. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class ...

division. He has formerly competed for the WEC,

King of the Cage King of the Cage (KOTC) is a mixed martial arts promotion based in Southern California, United States. History KOTC was founded in 1998 by Terry Trebilcock Jr. KOTC features mostly amateur as well as up and coming MMA stars and former mainstre ...

, and Tachi Palace Fights. He is the former King of the Cage Flyweight Champion.

Background

Tapia is from

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. As of the 2020 census, the city has a population of 314,998. It is the most populous city in th ...

. After the death of his parents, Tapia used football,

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

, and

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

as outlets for his anger. He attended Don Lugo High School in

Chino, California Chino ( ; Spanish for "Curly") is a city in the western end of San Bernardino County, California, United States, with Los Angeles County to its west and Orange County to its south in the Southern California region. Chino's surroundings ha ...

and Chaffey College. Tapia was originally introduced to mixed martial arts a year out of high school.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Tapia made his professional mixed martial arts debut in 2003 for

and compiled a record of 4-0-1 before winning the King of the Cage Flyweight Championship. He later signed with the WEC and was stripped of his title.

World Extreme Cagefighting

Tapia made his WEC debut at WEC 27 on May 12, 2007, in a

Featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, ...

bout against Brandon Foxworth and won via TKO in the second round. Tapia then fought at WEC 32 on February 13, 2008, against Antonio Banuelos and won via split decision. This brought Tapia's career record to 10-0-1. At '' WEC 37'', Tapia suffered a second-round TKO loss in a title fight with the WEC Bantamweight Champion Miguel Torres and lost via unanimous decision to

Akitoshi Tamura Akitoshi Tamura (born May 31, 1980) is a Japanese mixed martial artist. He competed almost exclusively in the Shooto organization, before making his debut in 2008 at the WEC 37. In 2007, he was the lightweight champion of Shooto. He was once ran ...

WEC 40 ''WEC 40: Torres vs. Mizugaki'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting on April 5, 2009 at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, Illinois. The event aired live on the Versus (TV channel), Versus Network. Background This was the ...

. Tapia then fought

Eddie Wineland Eddie Wineland (born June 26, 1984) is an American retired mixed martial artist, who competed in the Bantamweight (MMA), Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor from 2003 until 2022, Wineland ...

on October 10, 2009, on the

undercard In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...

WEC 43 ''WEC 43: Cerrone vs. Henderson'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting on October 10, 2009, at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. Background The event was scheduled to take place on September 2, 2009, at the Co ...

, losing via unanimous decision. Tapia was then released from the WEC after this loss and it was announced on November 17, 2009, that he has signed with Tachi Palace Fights. He debuted on their February 4 event in

Lemoore, California Lemoore (formerly La Tache and Lee Moore's) is a city in Kings County, California, United States. Lemoore is located west-southwest of Hanford, at an elevation of . It is part of the Hanford-Corcoran Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA Code 252 ...

, facing current

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 ...

fighter Michael McDonald and lost via TKO in the first round.

Personal life

Aside from fighting, Tapia currently works in Law Enforcement.

Championships and accomplishments

** KOTC Flyweight Championship (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, , Pete Sabala , Decision (unanimous) , SCMMA 1 - Inland Empire Strikes , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Ontario, California Ontario is a city in southwestern San Bernardino County, California, United States, east of downtown Los Angeles and west of downtown San Bernardino, the county seat. Located in the western part of the Inland Empire metropolitan area, it lies ...

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Pomona, California Pomona ( ) is a city in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. Pomona is located in the Pomona Valley, between the Inland Empire and the San Gabriel Valley. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city's population was ...

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, Decision (unanimous) ,

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San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–2–1 ,

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Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–1–1 , Miguel Torres , TKO (punches and elbows) , WEC 37: Torres vs. Tapia , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:02 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–0–1 , Antonio Banuelos , Decision (split) , WEC 32: Condit vs. Prater , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Rio Rancho, New Mexico Rio Rancho () is the largest and most populous city in Sandoval County, part of the expansive Albuquerque metropolitan area, in the U.S. state of New Mexico. A small portion of the city extends into northern Bernalillo County. It is the thi ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–0–1 , Brandon Foxworth , TKO (punches) , WEC 27 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:17 , Las Vegas, Nevada, United States , Featherweight bout. , - , Win , align=center, 8–0–1 , Richard Montano , TKO (knee & punches) , KOTC: Destroyer , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:24 ,

San Jacinto, California San Jacinto ( , ; ) is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. It is located at the north end of the San Jacinto Valley, with Hemet, California, Hemet to its south and Beaumont, California, Beaumont to its north. The mountains ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0–1 , Shad Smith , Decision (unanimous) , KOTC: Rapid Fire , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , San Jacinto, California, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0–1 , Ed Newalu , Decision (unanimous) , KOTC 63: Final Conflict , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , San Jacinto, California, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0–1 , Gregory Vivian , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , KOTC 58: Prime Time , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:25 , San Jacinto, California, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0–1 , Richard Goodman , TKO (punches) , KOTC: Mortal Sins , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:07 ,

Primm, Nevada Primm (formerly known as State Line) is an unincorporated town in Clark County, Nevada, United States, primarily notable for its position straddling Interstate 15 at the Nevada–California border. It sits on Ivanpah Dry Lake, which extends to ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0–1 , Ed Newalu , Decision (unanimous) , KOTC 41: Relentless , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , San Jacinto, California, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0–1 , Michael Welty , KO (punch) , KOTC 37: Unfinished Business , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:07 , San Jacinto, California, United States , , - , Draw , align=center, 1–0–1 , Chad Washburn , Draw (split) , KOTC 33: After Shock , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , San Jacinto, California, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Manuel Sawyze , Submission (rear-naked choke) , KOTC 31: King of the Cage 31 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:07 , San Jacinto, California, United States ,

References

External links