James Moontasri

Early life Moontasri was born in Frankfurt, Germany 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 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 UFC.

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

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

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. 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 on July 23, 2016 at UFC on Fox 20. He lost the one-sided fight via unanimous decision.

Moontasri was expected to face Alex Morono on October 15, 2016 at UFC Fight Night 97. 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. Moontasri lost the fight by unanimous decision.

Mixed martial arts record Loss

Alex Morono Decision (unanimous) UFC on Fox: VanZant vs. Waterson

Sacramento, California, United States Loss

Alex Oliveira Decision (unanimous) UFC on Fox: Holm vs. Shevchenko

Chicago, Illinois, United States Win

Anton Zafir TKO (spinning back kick and spinning back fist) UFC 193

Melbourne, Australia Loss

Kevin Lee Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC Fight Night: Mir vs. Duffee

San Diego, California, United States Win

Cody Pfister Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC Fight Night: Henderson vs. Thatch

Broomfield, Colorado, United States Loss

Joe Ellenberger Decision (split) UFC Fight Night: Swanson vs. Stephens

San Antonio, Texas, United States Win

Jordan Rinaldi KO (punch) RFA 15: Casey vs. Sanchez

Culver City, California, United States Win

Rick Reger Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) RFA 12: Ortega vs. Koch

Los Angeles, California, United States Win

R.J. Clifford TKO (punches) RFA 9: Munhoz vs. Curran

Los Angeles, California, United States Loss

Darren Smith Decision (split) FCOC: Fight Club OC

Costa Mesa, California, United States Win

Joshua Aveles Decision (unanimous) RITC: Respect in the Cage

Pomona, California, United States Win

Joshua Aveles Decision (unanimous) RITC: Respect in the Cage

Pomona, California, United States Win

Tim Lindsay KO (punch) Gladiator Challenge: Hostile

San Jacinto, California, United States Win

Jade Delong Submission (verbal) GC 83: Savage

San Bernardino, California, United States