Ray Cooper III Plans to Bring Bombs Even if David Michaud Knows It
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Ray Cooper III is a Professional Fighters League welterweight finalist for the second year in a row. This season, he will face Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran David Michaud on New Year’s Eve in Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater. Although it may be a new year, the 26-year-old plans to use the same punching power that helped him reach the finals in consecutive years. This will not come as a surprise to his opponent, who believes that Cooper III may have merely a puncher’s chance on fight night.
In a recent conversation with Sherdog, Michaud was questioned on what he thinks is the biggest threat with which he is faced in Cooper III. The “Bulldawg” pointed to one very specific aspect of his opponent’s game.
“As soon as we get out there, he’s going to throw those big nasty hooks at me and try to knock me out,” Michaud told Sherdog. “When you’ve got a guy with knockout power like that, it’s always going to be the biggest danger. He puts everything he’s got into every strike, which is dangerous.”
Asked about his championship opponent’s comments, “Bradda Boy” agreed with them, though with an important caveat.
“Trust me, I can grapple. I just choose not to,” Cooper III told Sherdog. “I like to throw punches and I like to finish. But if the guy is going to run away, I have to take him down, hold him down, and win the fight that way. But, he’s damn right I’m going to throw big shots. He better be worried about that because I think I’m the faster guy, with the faster hands. If he says that, then that’s his problem. I’m going to go in there and take his head off.”
In this exclusive video interview for Sherdog, Cooper also spoke about his run back to the finals, if this season and playoffs were more difficult than the last, and if he was better prepared for the present season having gone through it all before. Additionally, he spoke on fighting his cousin Zane Kamaka during the season and if they have patched up their issues since the fight. Cooper III also talked about his devotion to Jesus Christ, despite not considering himself to be religious, and his passions away from fighting, most notably video games.
