Derek Brunson Dominates PFL Veteran Ray Cooper III
Derek Brunson’s PFL debut was a grappling lesson to the seasoned Ray Cooper III. Who, despite some striking success early in the first, seemed outgunned once the match hit the canvas.
Brunson displayed a large amount of grittiness in the fight after being floored momentarily by a few left hooks early in the first. Many fans were speculative about Cooper’s motivation leading up to the fight. As the former 2x welterweight champion missed weight in his middleweight debut and had very limited answers at PFL’s media day.
A successful PFL debut for Derek Brunson with a dominant performance!#PFLWorldChampionship LIVE NOW
— PFL (@PFLMMA) November 25, 2023
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Certainly a rocky welcome to 185 pounds, but Cooper’s signature power is still very much there up a weight class. He once again showed he has the power to hurt anyone with his striking. With Johnny Eblen sitting cage-side, it appears a matchup between the Bellator middleweight champion and Derek Brunson could be on the horizon. Or (more likely) a Champ vs. Champ matchup between Eblen and the winner of Sy-Magomedkerimov. Both matchups are exciting for the PFL looking ahead.
In Brunson’s post-fight interview, he did call out Jake Paul. But admittedly, I don’t believe that matchup will materialize. Who would you want to see Derek Brunson face next inside the PFL?
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