At this point, Ray Cooper
III is a veteran of the process involved with the Professional
Fighters League Season.
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It’s safe to say that the 29-year-old Hawaiian has thrived in the
format after capturing back-to-back PFL championships in 2019 and
2021 (The promotion took one-year hiatus in 2020 at the height of
the COVID-19 pandemic). “Bradda Boy” will begin his bid for a third
consecutive title when he faces Carlos
Leal Miranda at PFL 3 on Friday night. He’s well prepared for
an active campaign after having fought four times in 2021 and five
times in 2019.
“I know what to expect in this tournament style,” Cooper said
during PFL media day. “I’m ready for it, but we’ve got to see if
all these other guys are ready for a whole season. Because most of
the guys that are coming in, they only fight probably twice a year.
We’ll see how their body can handle it and if their mind can handle
the beating that the season takes on you.”
Miranda is a short-notice replacement for Magomed
Umalatov, who withdrew from the contest for undisclosed
reasons. The change didn’t do much to affect Cooper’s
preparation.
“I don’t watch anything on any of my opponents,” he said. “I only
care about what I’m gonna do.”
Cooper’s 2021 victory was particularly memorable because he
defeated Magomedov Magomedkerimov in the PFL Championship after
falling to the Dagestani in the 2018 finals. It’s part of an
ongoing evolution for Cooper, but you wouldn’t know what
improvements have been made by listening to the man himself, who
seemed to channel Mike Tyson in his response.
“It’s a fight,” he said. “Once you get hit in the face, all that
training goes out the window and you want to hit them back.”
While each PFL season begins with a fresh slate, Cooper applies a
different mentality each time he fights. He owns plenty of
championship experience, and that’s an advantage he has over much
of his opposition.
“I think of myself as a champion every time I step in the cage,” he
said. “This is nothing different. I always go in there with a
mindset that I’m a champion already. And I am the champion. It’s
just another day in the office for me, doing what I love.”
Cooper has made a name for himself at 170 pounds in the PFL, but he
wouldn’t rule out a move to middleweight under the right
circumstances. His family is full of fighters. The MMA experience
of his father is well documented, as Ray Cooper squared off against
the likes of Jake Shields,
Antonio
McKee, Frank Trigg,
and Hermes
Franca during his career. The younger Cooper’s brothers are
also competing in the sport — Blake and Makoa already have pro
experience as welterweights — and if they’re successful enough,
perhaps they will share the PFL stage with their champion
sibling.
“I would definitely compete in the middleweight division,” Cooper
said. “I feel like 70 it’s just, there’s not that [many] guys
already. There’s only a couple guys that are top caliber. That’s
only if my brother and them would come over [to PFL].”