Ray Cooper comes up short despite impressive win at PFL 6
Jul. 2—Before he made the walk to the cage, Ray Cooper knew he was already eliminated from the playoffs.
That didn't stop the Pearl City alum from putting on a show.
Cooper nailed Brett Cooper with his first punch of the fight and didn't take long to end it, finishing with a TKO in 24 seconds on Friday night's PFL 6 card in Atlanta.
Ray Cooper (25-8-1, 12-3-1 PFL ) needed just 13 strikes to end the fight. Brett Cooper covered up immediately after the first punch and Ray Cooper threw a couple of blows to the head before landing two vicious body shots.
He went back to the head and then threw two knee strikes before going back to the body with a punch that crumpled Brett Cooper against the cage.
Ray Cooper pounced quickly to end it.
"I was just going in there throwing anything, hitting anything I could, " Cooper said in a post-fight interview in the cage.
With Magomed Magomedkerimov winning by stoppage in the fight before Cooper's, that eliminated the two-time PFL champion from qualifying for the playoffs.
Ray Cooper had made it to the final in all three previous seasons at 170 pounds.
"I wasn't really paying attention to that, " Ray Cooper said. "I just wanted to go in there and put the pressure on and I was going to finish him no matter what. I wanted to perform (after ) the last time and I did."
Cooper had a six-fight winning streak end in his opening regular-season bout of 2022, losing by unanimous decision after missing weight by more than 5 pounds.
There is a long-shot opportunity for Cooper to make the playoffs as an alternate if a fighter who qualifies isn't medically cleared to compete.
The playoffs in the welterweight division will take place either Aug. 13 or Aug. 20.
