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James Te Huna

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James Te Huna
Te Huna in 2014
Born (1981-09-29) 29 September 1981 (age 43)
Darfield, New Zealand
Height6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
DivisionMiddleweight
Light Heavyweight
Heavyweight
Reach75 in (190 cm)
Fighting out ofSydney, Australia
Years active2003–2016
Mixed martial arts record
Total25
Wins16
By knockout10
By submission3
By decision3
Losses9
By knockout3
By submission5
By disqualification1
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

James Te Huna (born 29 September 1981) is a New Zealand retired professional mixed martial artist, best known for competing in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He was the first Australian-based fighter to win a UFC fight on Australian soil, and the first person to headline a UFC fight in New Zealand.

Te Huna is now a Rugby League contact wrestling coach who has already worked alongside several NRL clubs. He also founded New Wave Engage that provides Support Programs to vulnerable teens in Out-Of-Home Care (foster teenagers).[citation needed]

Mixed martial arts career

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Early career and background

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Te Huna racked up victories on the local circuit, in Australia, as well as suffering a submission loss (via shoulder dislocation) to Bellator season one middleweight champion Hector Lombard.

Te Huna defeated veteran journeyman Antony Rea while competing for the Cage Fighting Championship promotion. He became the Cage Fighting Championship Light Heavyweight World Champion at CFC 10 by defeating Anthony Perosh by first-round KO. Te Huna was later sanctioned by the promotion for illegally stomping on Perosh after the referee had stopped the bout. Cage Fighting Championship promoter Luke Pezzutti issued the following statement concerning Te Huna's behaviour, "To Anthony Perosh and the supporters/ Fans of Cage Fighting Championship, we apologize and do not condone nor tolerate the un-sportsman like actions of James Te-Huna at the CFC 10 August 21 event where the referee Ivan Walton stepped in to stop the fight between James and Anthony, and as a result of his actions that evening he has been fined 20% of his fight purse and has offered to write a letter of apology to Anthony Perosh, CFC officials and the supporters of CFC. CFC officials will amend rules, regulations to further prevent this type of behavior from our athletes." A formal letter of apology was duly issued on Te Huna's behalf.

Te Huna escaped serious injuries after a twenty-foot shop glass panel fell on top of him while walking to training alongside a Sydney mall.[1]

Ultimate Fighting Championship

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Te Huna then signed a contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship and made his debut at UFC 110 against Igor Pokrajac.[2] Te Huna was victorious via a controversial TKO stoppage. The referee stopped the bout when he hit Pokrajac with nine consecutive punches, which he did with his broken arm.

His next fight was scheduled to be at UFC 120 against UFC newcomer Tom Blackledge,[3] but Te Huna withdrew from the fight due to injury and was replaced by James McSweeney.[4]

Te Huna made his return on 27 February 2011 at UFC 127 against Alexander Gustafsson,[5] where was defeated by first-round submission due to a rear-naked choke. He donated his fight purse to the Christchurch earthquake victims, and the UFC matched his donation.[6]

He faced Ricardo Romero on 24 September 2011 at UFC 135[7] and won by KO due to punches 47 seconds into the first round.

Te Huna next faced Aaron Rosa on 3 March 2012 at UFC on FX 2.[8] He won by TKO in the first round.

He was expected to face UFC veteran Brandon Vera on 11 July 2012 at UFC on Fuel TV 4.[9] However, Vera was tapped to fight Maurício Rua at UFC on Fox 4[9] and was replaced by returning veteran Joey Beltran.[10] Te Huna knocked Beltran down once and had him rocked throughout the first round. Despite breaking bones in his left hand and left foot[11] and having his endurance tested, Te Huna won the fight via unanimous decision (30–26, 30–27, 30–27).

Te Huna fought Ryan Jimmo on 16 February 2013 at UFC on Fuel TV: Barão vs. McDonald.[12] He survived an early scare in round one after getting hit with a head kick. Te Huna then rebounded by controlling rounds two and three with his wrestling, winning via unanimous decision (29–27, 29–28, 29–28).

He next faced Glover Teixeira at UFC 160 on 25 May 2013, coming in as an injury replacement for Ryan Bader.[13] He lost the fight via submission due to a guillotine choke in the first round.[14]

Te Huna faced Maurício Rua on 7 December 2013 at UFC Fight Night 33.[15] He lost the fight via knockout in the first round.

Following those two consecutive losses, Te Huna announced that he would drop down to middleweight for his future fights.[16] He made his middleweight debut and faced Nate Marquardt in his home country of New Zealand on 28 June 2014 at UFC Fight Night: Te Huna vs. Marquardt.[17] He lost the fight via first round armbar.

After being sidelined for all of 2015 due to a litany of injuries, Te Huna returned to face Steve Bossé on 20 March 2016 at UFC Fight Night 85.[18] Te-Huna lost the bout via KO in the first round.[19]

On 24 May 2016 Te Huna announced on both his Instagram and Twitter accounts that he would be retiring from mixed martial arts.[20]

Championships and accomplishments

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Mixed martial arts record

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Professional record breakdown
25 matches 16 wins 9 losses
By knockout 10 3
By submission 3 5
By decision 3 0
By disqualification 0 1
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Loss 16–9 Steve Bossé KO (punch) UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Mir 20 March 2016 1 0:52 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Loss 16–8 Nate Marquardt Submission (armbar) UFC Fight Night: Te Huna vs. Marquardt 28 June 2014 1 4:34 Auckland, New Zealand Middleweight bout.
Loss 16–7 Maurício Rua KO (punch) UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Bigfoot 7 December 2013 1 1:03 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Loss 16–6 Glover Teixeira Submission (guillotine choke) UFC 160 25 May 2013 1 2:38 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 16–5 Ryan Jimmo Decision (unanimous) UFC on Fuel TV: Barão vs. McDonald 16 February 2013 3 5:00 London, England
Win 15–5 Joey Beltran Decision (unanimous) UFC on Fuel TV: Munoz vs. Weidman 11 July 2012 3 5:00 San Jose, California, United States Fight of the Night.
Win 14–5 Aaron Rosa TKO (punches) UFC on FX: Alves vs. Kampmann 3 March 2012 1 2:08 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Win 13–5 Ricardo Romero KO (punches) UFC 135 24 September 2011 1 0:47 Denver, Colorado, United States
Loss 12–5 Alexander Gustafsson Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC 127 27 February 2011 1 4:27 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Win 12–4 Igor Pokrajac TKO (punches) UFC 110 21 February 2010 3 3:26 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Win 11–4 Anthony Perosh KO (punches) CFC 10: Light Heavyweight Grand Prix Finals 21 August 2009 1 2:21 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia CFC Light Heavyweight Grand Prix Final.
Win 10–4 Priscus Fogagnolo TKO (punches) CFC 9: Fighters Paradise 11 July 2009 2 2:37 Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia CFC Light Heavyweight Grand Prix Second Round.
Win 9–4 Antony Rea TKO (punches) CFC 8: Light Heavyweight Grand Prix 22 May 2009 1 1:52 Sydney, Australia CFC Light Heavyweight Grand Prix First Round.
Win 8–4 David Gibb TKO (punches) XFC: Return of the Hulk 14 March 2009 1 N/A Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Win 7–4 Sam Brown Decision (unanimous) EFG: Weapons of Mass Destruction 3 May 2008 3 5:00 Penrith, New South Wales, Australia Return to Light Heavyweight.
Loss 6–4 Hector Lombard TKO (shoulder injury) Warriors Realm 8 23 March 2007 1 3:50 Geelong, Victoria, Australia
Win 6–3 Takahiro Oba TKO (corner stoppage) X-plosion 18 August 2006 2 5:00 Sydney, Australia Return to Middleweight.
Loss 5–3 James Lee Submission (rear-naked choke) KOTC: Gunfather 10 February 2006 1 1:37 Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia Heavyweight debut; for the KOTC Light Heavyweight Championship.
Win 5–2 Edwin Aguilar TKO (punches) Kumite 2 11 November 2005 2 N/A Sydney, Australia
Win 4–2 Adrian Leatuna TKO (punches) Kumite 1 2 July 2005 3 N/A Sydney, Australia
Loss 3–2 Matt Knight DQ (fence grabbing) KOTC: Australia 4 February 2005 1 4:01 Sydney, Australia Middleweight debut.
Win 3–1 Kym Robinson Submission (rear-naked choke) XFC 6: Ultimate Fighting Returns 20 November 2004 1 2:19 Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
Win 2–1 Rocky Huni Submission (rear-naked choke) XFC 5: When Worlds Collide 13 August 2004 1 N/A Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
Win 1–1 Matt Knight Submission (rear-naked choke) Xtreme Fight Club 2 5 June 2004 2 1:20 Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
Loss 0–1 Api Hemara Submission (armbar) Spartan Reality Fight 6 5 April 2003 1 2:20 Perth, Western Australia, Australia

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Simon Plumb (17 April 2011). "UFC dream built on broken limbs". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  2. ^ "Pokrajac meets UFC newcomer Te-Huna at UFC 110". Retrieved 11 November 2009.
  3. ^ "UFC 120 – Tom Blackledge vs. James te Huna in the works for London, England « Wolfslair MMA". Archived from the original on 8 July 2010. Retrieved 6 July 2010.
  4. ^ "James McSweeney returns to 205 pounds, meets Tom Blackledge at UFC 120". MMAjunkie.com. Archived from the original on 13 July 2010. Retrieved 11 July 2010.
  5. ^ "Alexander Gustafsson vs. James Te Huna slotted for UFC 127". mmajunkie.com. 1 December 2010.
  6. ^ "Officials match UFC 127 fighter James Te Huna's fight-purse donation". mmajunkie.com. Archived from the original on 12 July 2012.
  7. ^ "James Te Huna vs. Ricardo Romero added to UFC 135 in Denver". mmajunkie.com. 18 July 2011. Archived from the original on 10 July 2012.
  8. ^ "James Te Huna vs Aaron Rosa possible for March 3 in Australia". mmamania.com. 23 December 2011.
  9. ^ a b "Brandon Vera Returns to Action Against James Te Huna at UFC on FUEL 4". cagepotato.com. 13 April 2012.
  10. ^ "Joey Beltran returns to octagon, faces James Te Huna at UFC on FUEL TV 4". mmajunkie.com. 11 June 2012. Archived from the original on 15 June 2012.
  11. ^ "The big Te Huna". SportsFan. 16 August 2012. Archived from the original on 18 January 2013. Retrieved 16 August 2012.
  12. ^ "James Te Huna vs. Ryan Jimmo Added to UFC on Fuel 7 in England". mmaweekly.com. 13 December 2012.
  13. ^ Alexander, Mookie (11 March 2013). "Ryan Bader injured, James Te Huna fights Glover Teixeira at UFC 160". bloodyelbow.com. Archived from the original on 15 March 2013. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
  14. ^ "Te Huna taps out against Teixeira". 3 News NZ. 26 May 2013. Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  15. ^ Nick Walshaw (12 September 2013). "UFC star Mauricio Shogun Rua heading to Australia". dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
  16. ^ "James Te Huna's new years resolutions: A move to Middleweight". themmacorner.com. 8 January 2014.
  17. ^ Neil Rooke (7 April 2014). "UFC New Zealand to Feature James Te Huna vs. Nate Marquardt". themmacorner.com.
  18. ^ Liam Ducey (19 January 2016). "UFC Brisbane gets four more fights". smh.com.au. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  19. ^ Ben Fowlkes (19 March 2016). "UFC Fight Night 85 results: Steve Bosse obliterates James Te Huna with 1-punch KO". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
  20. ^ "10-fight UFC veteran James Te Huna announces MMA retirement after 13 years as pro". 24 May 2016.
  21. ^ Thomas Gerbasi (7 January 2013). "Ten Best - 2012 Fights of the Year". Ultimate Fighting Championship.
  22. ^ "James Te Huna MMA Stats, Pictures, News, Videos, Biography". Sherdog.com. 29 September 1981. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
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