Derek Brunson books PFL debut vs. Ray Cooper III at championships event
Derek Brunson has drawn a former PFL champion in his promotional debut.
Brunson (23-9) takes on Ray Cooper III (25-8-1) in a middleweight bout Nov. 24 at 2023 PFL Championships, which takes place at The Anthem in Washington, D.C., promotion officials announced Friday.
Brunson, 39, signed with PFL after parting ways with the UFC. The perennial middleweight contender never fought for a UFC title but racked up impressive wins over the likes of Lyoto Machida, Uriah Hall, Kevin Holland, and Darren Till during his more than decade-long octagon tenure.
Cooper, a two-time PFL welterweight champion, missed out on the 2022 playoffs after an upset loss to Carlos Leal. He rebounded with a 24-second knockout of Brett Cooper in July 2022, but it wasn’t enough for him to advance.
It will have been almost 17 months since Cooper last competed when he steps into the cage against Brunson, who most recently lost to Dricus Du Plessis this past March at UFC 285.
Below is the updated 2023 PFL World Championships lineup
MAIN CARD (ESPN+ pay-per-view)
Clay Collard vs. Olivier Aubin-Mercier – lightweight final
Denis Goltsov vs. Renan Ferreira –heavyweight final
Larissa Pacheco vs. Marina Mokhnatkina – women’s featherweight final
Julia Budd vs. Kayla Harrison
Magomed Magomedkerimov vs. Sadibou Sy – welterweight final
Jesus Pinedo vs. Gabriel Braga – featherweight final
Josh Silveira vs. Impa Kasanganay – light heavyweight final
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+)
Derek Brunson vs. Ray Cooper III
Biaggio Ali Walsh vs. Joel Lopez
Bubba Jenkins vs. Chris Wade
Phil Caracappa vs. Khai Wu
Josh Blyden vs. Jesse Stirn
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for 2023 PFL Championships.
