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For Ray Cooper III, Road to Possible PFL Three-Peat 'Just Another Day in the Office'



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].”

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