Former MMA fighter Homer Moore arrested in 1999 murder

A former UFC fighter was arrested Tuesday in a 15-year-old murder case, police say.

Homer Moore, who made his UFC debut in 2001, is accused in the 1999 death of 19-year-old Karam Hussein Jabbar, according to authorities in Arizona. Moore was taken into custody in a joint arrest by Tempe police and U.S. marshals on an outstanding warrant alleging first-degree murder.

Jabbar's body was found on Aug. 3, 1999, after he was reported missing more than a week earlier. His decomposing corpse was found in the trunk of a car in a supermarket parking lot with his hands and feet bound and a bag over his head. The cause of death was asphyxiation, according to the medical examiner's office.

The murder was a drug deal gone bad, authorities say.

According to news reports, Moore had been the prime suspect for years, but only now were cold case investigators able to collect enough information through witness statements to arrest him, Tempe police spokesman Michael Pooley told local media outlets. At the time of his arrest, Moore was wearing a UFC "Ultimate Fighter" T-shirt, though he had no existing connection to the show or the promotion.

The 42-year-old Moore went 26-9-2 in an MMA career that spanned just more than eight years. 

In November 2001, after going 11-0 to begin his career, he was invited to compete in the UFC, where he took on future middleweight champion Evan Tanner. Moore lost by second-round armbar submission and never again returned to the Octagon. His career ledger includes fights with several other notables including Chael Sonnen, Dan Severn and Jeremy Horn. 

He is being held on $1 million bond, and police say further arrests are expected in connection with the case.