Tag: UFC 34

CP After Dark: One-Time UFC Vet Homer Moore Arrested For Role in 1999 Drug-Related Murder


(Moore’s mugshot via the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office)

So this is pretty f*cked up.

If you happen to be a hardcore MMA fan with a near-perfect memory dating back roughly a dozen years, you might remember Homer “Rock” Moore from his lone appearance at UFC 34: High Voltage, which resulted in a second round loss via armbar to Evan Tanner. No? Well, perhaps you might remember Moore from his notable scraps with such UFC veterans as Chael Sonnen, Dan Severn, Jeremy Horn, and Joe Riggs among others. Ringing any bells?

If you still are coming up short in regards to Mr. Moore, fret not, for you’ll surely remember his name after you read this. Earlier today, Moore was arrested in connection with a particularly brutal murder of a 19-year-old man in Tempe, Arizona that took place back in 1999. According to AZ Central, Moore was allegedly one of several men who helped lure Karam Hussein Jabbar into a townhouse as part of a drug deal, only to suffocate Jabbar and stuff him into the trunk of a car that they then abandoned in a grocery store parking lot. Some fifteen years later, police were finally able to gather enough evidence to arrest him:

The case began in August 1999 when Jabbar, a 19-year-old retail salesman from Scottsdale, was found in the trunk of a vehicle with his hands and feet bound and a bag over his head in the parking lot of a grocery store in Mesa.

According to police, Jabbar was set up by Moore.

Moore and Jabbar met through a mutual acquaintance, and Jabbar was going to take marijuana to Moore and a group of others. But Moore and the others planned to rob Jabbar, he said. The group took Jabbar to a townhouse in Tempe, where the murder took place.

Police found the body after complaints of a smell coming from the abandoned vehicle were reported.


(Moore’s mugshot via the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office)

So this is pretty f*cked up.

If you happen to be a hardcore MMA fan with a near-perfect memory dating back roughly a dozen years, you might remember Homer “Rock” Moore from his lone appearance at UFC 34: High Voltage, which resulted in a second round loss via armbar to Evan Tanner. No? Well, perhaps you might remember Moore from his notable scraps with such UFC veterans as Chael Sonnen, Dan Severn, Jeremy Horn, and Joe Riggs among others. Ringing any bells?

If you still are coming up short in regards to Mr. Moore, fret not, for you’ll surely remember his name after you read this. Earlier today, Moore was arrested in connection with a particularly brutal murder of a 19-year-old man in Tempe, Arizona that took place back in 1999. According to AZ Central, Moore was allegedly one of several men who helped lure Karam Hussein Jabbar into a townhouse as part of a drug deal, only to suffocate Jabbar and stuff him into the trunk of a car that they then abandoned in a grocery store parking lot. Some fifteen years later, police were finally able to gather enough evidence to arrest him:

The case began in August 1999 when Jabbar, a 19-year-old retail salesman from Scottsdale, was found in the trunk of a vehicle with his hands and feet bound and a bag over his head in the parking lot of a grocery store in Mesa.

According to police, Jabbar was set up by Moore.

Moore and Jabbar met through a mutual acquaintance, and Jabbar was going to take marijuana to Moore and a group of others. But Moore and the others planned to rob Jabbar, he said. The group took Jabbar to a townhouse in Tempe, where the murder took place.

Police found the body after complaints of a smell coming from the abandoned vehicle were reported.

The Medical Examiner’s Office determined Jabbar’s cause of death was asphyxiation, police said.

Moore was said to be known for drugs throughout the club scene.

According to the article, Moore was questioned by detectives in 1999 when Jabbar’s body was originally discovered, but was later cleared when no physical evidence against him was found.

Moore last competed in March of 2013, where he scored a first round KO over Vincent Lawler at All Powers Combat 11.

There’s not much else to say, really, other than that the family of Jabbar can finally have a little closure in what remains a horrific and ongoing crime. We will have more on this story as it develops.

Update: In the uncropped version of the booking photo, you can see that Moore was wearing a UFC shirt at the time of his arrest.

–J. Jones

Classic Fight: Matt Hughes Discusses the Night He Fell Asleep and Woke Up Champion

(Props: fueltv via Taz Styles)

In this clip from FUEL TV’s Ultimate Matt Hughes special, the UFC Hall of Famer (and current Vice President of Athlete Development and Government Relations) recalls his infamous welterweight title fight at UFC 34 back in November 2001, in which he defeated Carlos Newton via slam-knockout, despite being nearly finished by a triangle choke. At the time, Hughes was returning to the UFC after building up a seven-fight win streak outside of the organization, and Newton had just become champion by bulldog-choking Hughes’s homey Pat Miletich seven months earlier at UFC 31.

From the moment that Newton emerged for his pimpin’-pimpin’ walkout to the cage, Hughes wasn’t impressed. (“This guy’s off in la-la land, thinkin’ this is some entertainment show…I’m gonna mop this guy up.”) And Hughes did just that for a while, until he found Newton’s legs wrapped around his neck. As was often the case when Hughes found himself in trouble in a fight, he picked up his opponent and carried him like a bale of hay.

Hughes claims that he slammed Newton intentionally — even though it kind of looked like he just passed out on the spot — but he does admit that he was dazed afterwards, half-asleep from the affects of Newton’s triangle choke. But since Newton was completely unconscious, the belt went to the challenger. Hughes would defend the title five times during his first championship reign, including a fourth-round TKO win over Newton in a rematch the following year. Newton never fought for a UFC title again, and is currently trying to sell his afro wig on eBay.


(Props: fueltv via Taz Styles)

In this clip from FUEL TV’s Ultimate Matt Hughes special, the UFC Hall of Famer (and current Vice President of Athlete Development and Government Relations) recalls his infamous welterweight title fight at UFC 34 back in November 2001, in which he defeated Carlos Newton via slam-knockout, despite being nearly finished by a triangle choke. At the time, Hughes was returning to the UFC after building up a seven-fight win streak outside of the organization, and Newton had just become champion by bulldog-choking Hughes’s homey Pat Miletich seven months earlier at UFC 31.

From the moment that Newton emerged for his pimpin’-pimpin’ walkout to the cage, Hughes wasn’t impressed. (“This guy’s off in la-la land, thinkin’ this is some entertainment show…I’m gonna mop this guy up.”) And Hughes did just that for a while, until he found Newton’s legs wrapped around his neck. As was often the case when Hughes found himself in trouble in a fight, he picked up his opponent and carried him like a bale of hay.

Hughes claims that he slammed Newton intentionally — even though it kind of looked like he just passed out on the spot — but he does admit that he was dazed afterwards, half-asleep from the affects of Newton’s triangle choke. But since Newton was completely unconscious, the belt went to the challenger. Hughes would defend the title five times during his first championship reign, including a fourth-round TKO win over Newton in a rematch the following year. Newton never fought for a UFC title again, and is currently trying to sell his afro wig on eBay.