Early career Tapia made his professional mixed martial arts debut in 2003 for
King of the Cage 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 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 at
WEC 40. Tapia then fought
Eddie Wineland on October 10, 2009, on the
undercard at
WEC 43, 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, facing current
UFC fighter
Michael McDonald and lost via TKO in the first round. ==Personal life==