Ray Cooper III expects wrestling-heavy game plan from Derek Brunson's PFL debut

Anything can happen in a fight, is what they’ve drilled into our heads. And that probably is fine with Ray Cooper III.

As far as Cooper is concerned, if anything does happen, it’ll be a situation he not only can handle, but can thrive in. Take Friday, for example. Cooper (25-8-1), a three-time PFL finalist who won the $1 million welterweight seasons in 2019 and 2021, takes on longtime UFC fighter Derek Brunson (23-9) on Friday at the promotion’s 2023 championship event.

This time, Cooper isn’t in the welterweight final gunning for $1 million, though. He’s up to middleweight after years at 170 pounds. Even though he said he’s prepared to fight anywhere, he thinks Brunson only has one spot in mind.

“Fighting Derek Brunson, it’s just another guy in front of me that I’m going to run over,” Cooper said at Wednesday’s 2023 PFL Championship media day. “I’ve been to world title fights, so this is nothing new to me.

“I don’t need to look out for anything. He needs to look out for me. He probably wants to just wrestle. My background is wrestling, so we can do whatever he wants. … That’s what I think: He’s going to wrestle. I’m going to get in his face and throw hands with him, and I don’t see him trying to want to throw. He’s going to want to grab me. He thinks he’s the bigger fighter. That’s what he thinks. He’s going to try to wrestle me, but I’m looking to throw hands and put hands on him.”

Cooper missed the 2022 PFL playoffs. He missed weight for his regular season fight against Carlos Leal, then lost a decision to boot. His 24-second TKO of Brett Cooper in his second bout wasn’t enough to get into the postseason, so those 24 seconds is all he’s had in the cage since his May 2022 loss to Leal.

Getting back in there is going to feel good, he expects. And with the PFL’s Monday news that Bellator soon will be. in the fold, Cooper thinks eventual bouts against some of Bellator’s best will make things interesting – especially if he stays at middleweight and can get the stars align to fight Bellator’s 185-pound champ, Johnny Eblen at some point.

“Just like any other one, I’m ready to go,” Cooper said. “I’m just real glad to get back in the cage again and fight. I have to beat Derek Brunson, and I’m looking to stay active with hopefully some fights with the new Bellator guys. I feel like there’s a lot of matchups there – anybody they want to put in front of me.

“I mean, I’ve fought guys from the UFC. It’s nothing new. They come over here, they think just because they’re from the UFC, they can run stuff in PFL. But I always shut that down real quick. None of these guys is one big threat to me that I think of. … That’s a good fight (against Eblen). I’m a two-time world champion. He is a world champion, himself. I’m from a lower division, but I feel like that doesn’t matter. Johnny is a great fighter. It’ll be great to fight him.”

The 2023 PFL Championship event takes place Friday at The Anthem in Washington, D.C. The main card, including the Cooper-Brunson middleweight feature, airs on pay-per-view (ESPN+) following prelims on ESPN+.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for 2023 PFL Championship.