Derek Brunson to Face Ray Cooper III at PFL 2023 Championships in 185-Pound Bout

Derek Brunson’s trip up to 205 pounds will be on hold for a few more months.

On Thursday, news broke that Brunson (23-9) had signed with Professional Fighters League. Per his manager, Brunson would be competing this year, and that his destination was ultimately the light heavyweight bracket of the 2024 tournament. The organization released on Friday his first assignment, which will be taking place at middleweight on Nov. 24. At the PFL 2023 Championships event, he will battle it out with former welterweight tourney victor Ray Cooper III (25-8-1).

The two will collide as the featured prelim in a “showcase” bout, in what will be the second middleweight match since Louis Taylor defeated Abusupiyan Magomedov for the 185-pound throne in the 2018 Championships event. Although Brunson’s manager stated that he would be moving to light heavyweight, it is unclear at this time if the promotion will be re-opening the weight class for a bracket in next year's tournament or if this is a one-off to benefit both combatants.

The 39-year-old last competed at UFC 285 in March, where his corner intervened at the end of the second round after a Dricus Du Plessus drubbing. That loss was his second in a row, as he previously met Jared Cannonier at UFC 271 in 2022 and was put away late into Round 2. Before the pair of setbacks, the top contender strung together five straight victories, stopping Darren Till and Edmen Shahbazyan while notching decisions over Kevin Holland, Ian Heinisch and Elias Theodorou.

Cooper will be appearing for the first time since July 2022 when he moves up in weight. This will be his first outing at 185 pounds, although the Hawaiian struggled multiple times in the last few years to reach the 171-pound cap of his former weight class. Dating back four years, Cooper has lost just once to Carlos Leal Miranda, while going to a draw with Sadibou Sy in 2019. Along the way, “Bradda Boy” won the 2019 and 2021 tourneys, knocking out David Michaud and Magomed Magomedkerimov, respectively, to pick up those million-dollar checks.

The 2023 Season PFL Championships will be held at The Anthem in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 24. Six championship affairs at light heavyweight, featherweight, welterweight, women’s featherweight, heavyweight and lightweight will go down throughout the night. The billing also contains a non-title showdown between Kayla Harrison and Julia Budd on the main card, as well as an amateur outing for Biaggio Ali Walsh.