James Head (born February 9, 1984) is an American

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

who competed in the

Welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...

division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship 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 Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

Mixed martial arts

James started training at Lovato's in 2008 and quickly earned a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu after winning the silver medal at the 2010 World Championships as a blue belt. Before James arrived at Lovato's, he had over six years of boxing experience, and was the Southwest Regional Amateur Champion in Texas. He has since been incorporating Lovato's Mixed Martial Arts program into his arsenal and currently holds an 8-2 pro record and a 5-0 amateur record as a MMA fighter. James has been studying the art of Muay Thai and is showing his techniques to the Lovato's Team, demonstrating how to throw a proper punch, kick, elbow and knee.

Early career

In August 2009 he suffered his first loss to

Jesse Forbes Jesse Lee Forbes (born October 24, 1984) is a retired American mixed martial artist. A professional competitor from 2005 until 2010, he competed for the UFC, WEC, the MFC, and was a competitor on ''The Ultimate Fighter 3.'' Background Forbes ...

resulting in a 5–1 record. He then bounced back with a TKO win over Bill Albrecht. His biggest win to date came over UFC veteran

Gerald Harris Gerald Harris (born November 19, 1979) is an American retired mixed martial artist and current high school science teacher, who most recently fought in Bellator. He was a cast member of Spike TV's ''The Ultimate Fighter 7'' and has also compet ...

at the Tulsa Hard Rock Cafe. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

With his win over Harris, Head earned a shot in the UFC and made his debut against undefeated

Nick Ring Nick Ring (born February 10, 1979) is a Professional boxer and mixed martial artist who is best known for competing in the middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional MMA competitor since 2002, Ring fought in vari ...

UFC 131 ''UFC 131: dos Santos vs. Carwin'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on 11 June 2011 at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Background Brock Lesnar was originally scheduled to face ...

. He lost the fight via submission in the third round. Head was expected to face Mark Scanlon on November 5, 2011 at

UFC 138 ''UFC 138: Leben vs. Muñoz'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 5, 2011 at LG Arena in Birmingham, United Kingdom. The event aired on the same day, via tape delay, on Spike TV in the United S ...

. However, Scanlon was pulled from the bout and replaced by promotional newcomer John Maguire Then, on September 28, Head himself pulled out of the fight due to an undisclosed injury and was replaced by Justin Edwards. Head made his welterweight debut against

Papy Abedi Mwimbi Papy Abedi (born June 30, 1978) is a Congolese-Swedish mixed martial artist who last competed in 2017. A professional competitor since 2006, he formerly fought for the UFC. Biography Abedi was born in 1978 in Kinshasa, Zaire (now Democra ...

at UFC on Fuel TV: Gustafsson vs. Silva. He won the fight at 4:33 in the first round via rear naked choke. Head was expected to face

Claude Patrick Claude Patrick (born June 14, 1980) is a Canadian retired mixed martial artist. Patrick most recently competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), fighting in their Welterweight division. Early life Claude Patrick was born and raised in ...

on July 21, 2012 at

UFC 149 The year 2012 was the 20th year in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. 2012 started with UFC 142: Aldo vs. Mendes and ended with UFC 155: dos Santos vs. Velasquez 2 ...

. However, Patrick was forced out of the bout with an injury and replaced by

Brian Ebersole Brian Keith Ebersole (born November 27, 1980) is an American retired mixed martial artist who competed in the UFC's Welterweight division, and holds a record of 5-3 with the organization. In addition to the UFC, Ebersole has competed in Shooto, ...

. Head won via split decision (29-28, 28–29, 29-28). Head faced Mike Pyle on December 15, 2012 at The Ultimate Fighter: Team Carwin vs. Team Nelson Finale. He lost via TKO in the first round. Head was scheduled to fight

Nick Catone Nicholas Catone (born September 1, 1981) is a retired American mixed martial artist. Catone competed most recently in the Ultimate Fighting Championship in their Middleweight division. Mixed martial arts career Wrestling Catone began wrestling ...

on April 27, 2013 at

UFC 159 ''UFC 159: Jones vs. Sonnen'' was a mixed martial arts event held on April 27, 2013, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Background Jimy Hettes was expected to face Steven Siler at the event; however, Hettes was forced out of the bo ...

. During official weigh-ins, Head registered 170.25 pounds while Catone failed to make weight, coming in at 173 pounds. Catone was allowed two hours to attempt to shed weight before a second weigh-in opportunity was offered him. He did not re-weigh. Catone was subsequently fined 20% of his purse, and the bout was scheduled to proceed as a catchweight match. The day of the show, it was announced that Catone had been hospitalized for "severe dehydration", and the fight was officially pulled from the card. Head was expected to face

Bobby Voelker Robert "Bobby" James Voelker (born April 26, 1979) is an American professional mixed martial artist competing in their Welterweight division. A professional competitor since 2006, Voelker has formerly competed for the UFC, Bellator MMA, Strikef ...

on August 28, 2013 at

UFC Fight Night 27 ''UFC Fight Night: Condit vs. Kampmann 2'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 27'') was a mixed martial arts event held on August 28, 2013, at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. The event was broadcast live on Fox Sports 1. Backg ...

. However, on July 11, it was announced that Voelker had been tabbed as a replacement for

Siyar Bahadurzada Siyar Bahadurzada ( fa, سیار بهادرزاده; born 17 April 1984) is a retired Afghan-born Dutch mixed martial artist who competed in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He currently works as an instructor for ...

and would face

Robbie Lawler Robert Lawler (born March 20, 1982) is an American professional mixed martial artist who has been competing since 2001. He is the former UFC Welterweight Champion, former EliteXC Middleweight Champion, and has formerly competed in Strikeforce, ...

on July 27, 2013 at

UFC on Fox 8 ''UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Moraga'' (also known as ''UFC on Fox 8'') was a mixed martial arts event held on July 27, 2013, at the Key Arena in Seattle, Washington. The event was broadcast live on FX and Fox. Background The main event was a UFC F ...

. Head instead faced

Jason High Jason High (born October 12, 1981) is an American mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Lightweight division of the Professional Fighters League. A professional competitor since 2005, High has also competed for Strikeforce, Aff ...

. He lost the bout via first round guillotine choke submission. After the loss Head was subsequently released from the UFC.

Mixed martial arts record

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Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

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The Ultimate Fighter 16 Finale ''The Ultimate Fighter: Team Carwin vs. Team Nelson'' is the sixteenth main installment of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)-produced reality television series ''The Ultimate Fighter''. This season reverted to the taped format, after Th ...

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Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

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Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and ...

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Muskogee, Oklahoma Muskogee () is the thirteenth-largest city in Oklahoma and the county seat of Muskogee County. Home to Bacone College, it lies approximately southeast of Tulsa. The population of the city was 36,878 as of the 2020 census, a 6.0 percent decrease ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Lee McKibbin , Submission (triangle choke) , CW 9: Max Extreme Fighting , , align=center, 2 , align=center, N/A ,

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

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References

External links

Official UFC ProfilePro Fight Record
{{DEFAULTSORT:Head, James 1984 births Living people American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists from Illinois Middleweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Mixed martial artists utilizing Muay Thai Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu People from Highland, Illinois Sportspeople from Oklahoma City Mixed martial artists from Oklahoma Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters American male boxers American Muay Thai practitioners American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu