Ray Cooper III

Raynald Cooper III (born February 7, 1993) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Middleweight division. A professional competitor since 2012, Cooper is most notable for his time in the Professional Fighters League (PFL), where he is a two-time Welterweight champion.

Early life Born and raised in Pearl City, Hawaii, Cooper got into many fights in the schoolyard, beginning to wrestle at the age of six and trained under the tutelage of his father, Ray Cooper Jr., a professional fighter. In Hawaii, Cooper was a three-time state champion wrestler and two-time Oahu Interscholastic Association champion, winning his last championship at 173 lbs. Upon graduating at the age of 18, he began his career in professional MMA, turning down a college scholarship to continue wrestling. Starting to train with his uncles Ronald Jhun and David “Kawika” Pa’aluhi, also fellow former fighters, and his father, Cooper was the first Cooper sibling, 6 of them in total, to skip college.

Mixed martial arts career Early career Cooper began competing as an amateur in 2011, compiling a record of 3-0 before turning professional in 2012. He competed in promotions King of the Cage, Gladiator Challenge, X-1 and PXC. He compiled a record of 13-5 before being signed by the Professional Fighters League.

On August 16, 2018, Cooper defeated Pavel Kusch at PFL 6 in 18 seconds of the first round advancing to the playoffs.

On October 20, 2018, Cooper faced Jake Shields in a rematch at PFL 10. He won the fight via technical knockout in the first round to advance to the semifinals of the playoffs. In the semifinals, Cooper defeated Handesson Ferreira in a rematch via technical knockout to advance to the Welterweight finals.

Cooper faced Magomed Magomedkerimov in the finals at PFL 11 on December 31, 2018. Cooper lost the fight via a guillotine choke submission in the second round. Cooper said of the fight, “I left my neck out too much. I thought I was winning that fight, you know, I was pressing the action. I just left my neck out. He has some slick guillotines, he has some long arms."

On July 11, 2019 at PFL 4, he faced John Howard, losing the bout after getting knocked out in the first round.

He faced Sadibou Sy in the quarterfinals at PFL 7 on October 11, 2019. The fight ended in a draw with Cooper advancing. In the semifinals at the same event, he faced Chris Curtis and won by knockout in the second round. Cooper faced David Michaud in the finals at PFL 10 on December 31, 2019. He won the fight via TKO in the second round to win the 2019 PFL Welterweight Tournament.

Cooper faced Jason Ponet on April 29, 2021 at PFL 2 as the start of the 2021 PFL Welterweight tournament. He won the bout with an arm-triangle choke in the first round.

Cooper faced Nikolay Aleksakhin at PFL 5 on June 17, 2021. He won the bout via unanimous decision.

Cooper faced Rory MacDonald in the Semifinals off the Welterweight tournament on August 13, 2021 at PFL 7. He won the bout via unanimous decision.

Cooper rematched Magomed Magomedkerimov in the Finals of the Welterweight tournament on 27 October 2021 at PFL 10. Cooper had previously faced Magomedkerimov in the finals of the 2018 tournament, losing the bout via guillotine in the second round. He won the bout this time tho via knockout in the third round, winning the 2021 PFL Welterweight Tournament and another $1 million dollar prize.

Cooper was scheduled to face Magomed Umalatov on May 6, 2022 at PFL 3. Umalatov would pull out of the bout and be replaced by former LFA Welterweight Champion Carlos Leal. At weigh-ins, Ray Cooper III missed weight for the bouts, weighing in at 176.4 pounds, 5.4 pounds over the welterweight non-title fight limit.He was fined 20 percent of their purses, ineligible to win playoff points, given a walkover loss, and was penalized one point in the standings In an upset, Cooper lost the bout via unanimous decision.

Cooper faced Brett Cooper on July 1, 2022 at PFL 6. He won the bout via TKO stoppage 24 seconds into the bout.

Cooper made his middleweight debut against Derek Brunson on November 24, 2023 at PFL 10. At weigh-ins, Cooper came in at 186.8 pounds.8 pounds over the limit, leading him to being fined a percentage of his purse which went to Brunson and the bout was held at a catchweight. Cooper lost the fight by unanimous decision.

Returning to welterweight, Cooper replaced PFL welterweight champion Magomed Magomedkerimov to face Bellator welterweight champion Jason Jackson in a 182 pound catchweight bout at PFL vs. Bellator on February 24, 2024. He lost the bout by technical knockout in the second round.

Cooper faced Mukhamed Berkhamov on August 23, 2024 at PFL 9. He lost the fight via split decision.

Personal life Cooper has four younger brothers; Bronson, Blake, Baylen and Makoa. All won wrestling state titles as well, with Blake, now a mixed martial artist, winning three. Both Blake and Baylen wrestled for Warner Pacific University where they were NAIA national champions and All-Americans. He also has a younger sister named Makana who is currently competing in the Hawaii High School Girls Wrestling division. Even Cooper's wife is a former high school state wrestling champion.

Championships and accomplishments Professional Fighters League 2019 PFL Welterweight Championship 2021 PFL Welterweight Championship Fastest Knockout in PFL History (0:18) Gladiator Challenge Fights Gladiator Challenge Lightweight Championship (One time) Fight Matrix 2018 Most Improved Fighter of the Year MMA Sucka 2018 Upset of the Year

Mixed martial arts record Win

Gláucio Eliziário KO (punches) Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA 9

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic Loss

Fanil Rafikov Decision (unanimous) BetCity Fight Nights 132

Moscow, Russia Loss

Darkhanbek Ergeshov Submission (rear-naked choke) Borroka Presents: XFC 53

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Loss

Dante Schiro TKO (elbows and punches) Tuff-N-Uff 145

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Loss

Mukhamed Berkhamov Decision (split) PFL 9 (2024)

Washington, D.C., United States Loss

Jason Jackson TKO (leg kick and punches) PFL vs. Bellator

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Loss

Derek Brunson Decision (unanimous) PFL 10 (2023)

Washington, D.C., United States Win

Brett Cooper TKO (knees and punches) PFL 6 (2022)

Atlanta, Georgia, United States Loss

Carlos Leal Decision (unanimous) PFL 3 (2022)

Arlington, Texas, United States Win

Magomed Magomedkerimov KO (punches) PFL 10 (2021)

Hollywood, Florida, United States Win

Rory MacDonald Decision (unanimous) PFL 7 (2021)

Hollywood, Florida, United States Win

Nikolay Aleksakhin Decision (unanimous) PFL 5 (2021)

Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Win

Jason Ponet Submission (arm-triangle choke) PFL 2 (2021)

Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Win

David Michaud TKO (punches) PFL 10 (2019)

New York City, New York, United States Win

Chris Curtis KO (punch)

Draw

Sadibou Sy Draw (unanimous)

Loss

John Howard KO (punches) PFL 4 (2019)

Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Win

Zane Kamaka Submission (rear-naked choke) PFL 1 (2019)

Uniondale, New York, United States Loss

Magomed Magomedkerimov Submission (guillotine choke) PFL 11 (2018)

New York City, New York, United States Win

Handesson Ferreira TKO (punches)

Win

Jake Shields TKO (punches)

Win

Pavel Kusch TKO (punches) PFL 6 (2018)

Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Win

Jake Shields TKO (punches) PFL 3 (2018)

Washington, D.C., United States Loss

Handesson Ferreira Decision (unanimous) Capone's Productions: Mid-Pacific 5

Honolulu, Hawaii, United States Win

Charles Bennett TKO (punches) X-1 World Events 48

Honolulu, Hawaii, United States Win

Jonathan Pico Submission (rear-naked choke) X-1 World Events 46

Kahului, Hawaii, United States Loss

Park Jun-yong Submission (anaconda choke) Pacific Xtreme Combat 56

Hagåtña, Guam Win

Matthew Colquhoun KO (punch) X-1 World Events 45

Honolulu, Hawaii, United States Win

Zach Conn KO (punches) X-1 World Events 44

Honolulu, Hawaii, United States Win

Gabe Rivas KO (punches) Star Elite Cage Fighting 18

Waipahu, Hawaii, United States Win

Josh Drake Submission (front choke) Gladiator Challenge: Season's Beatings 2015

Rancho Mirage, California, United States Win

Adrian Bartree KO (punch) Gladiator Challenge: Showdown

Rancho Mirage, California, United States Win

David Douglas TKO (punches) Star Elite Cage Fighting 15

Waipahu, Hawaii, United States Win

Dave Mazany Submission (rear-naked choke) Star Elite Cage Fighting 13

Waipahu, Hawaii, United States Win

Jody Carter TKO (punches) Gladiator Challenge: Season's Beatings 2014

Rancho Mirage, California, United States Loss

Craig Jackson TKO (punches) Southside Boxing Club: War on the Valley Isle 3

Kahului, Hawaii, United States Loss

Danny Navarro Submission (guillotine choke) Gladiator Challenge: Payback

San Jacinto, California, United States Win

Nate Harris Submission (guillotine choke) Destiny MMA: Na Koa 5

Honolulu, Hawaii, United States Loss

Joey Gomez Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) Destiny MMA: Na Koa 3

Honolulu, Hawaii, United States Win

Adam Smith Submission (rear-naked choke) Destiny MMA: Na Koa 2

Honolulu, Hawaii, United States Win

Kani Correa KO (punch) KOTC: Ali'is

Honolulu, Hawaii, United States