Cooper III vs Brunson

Who won Cooper III vs Brunson?

Derek Brunson beat Ray Cooper by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest during the main card of PFL 10, on Friday 24th November 2023 at The Anthem in Washington.

The scorecards were announced in favor of the winner Derek Brunson.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 3 rounds in the Middleweight division, which meant the weight limit was 185 pounds (13.2 stone or 83.9 KG).

Cooper III vs Brunson stats

Ray Cooper stepped into the octagon with a record of 25 wins, 8 losses and 1 draw, 16 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 7 by submission.

Derek Brunson made his way to the cage with a record of 23 wins, 9 losses and 0 draws, 12 of those wins coming by knock out and 4 by submission.

This was Ray Cooper's 19th fight in the PFL, having made his debut for the promotion in 2018.

Ray Cooper's PFL record stood at 12-6-1, while Derek Brunson's came in at 1-0-0.

The stats suggested Cooper had an advantage in power over Brunson, with a 64% knock out percentage over Brunson's 52%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Cooper had an advantage over Brunson, with a 28% submission rate over Brunson's 17%.

Ray Cooper was the younger man by 9 years, at 32 years old.

Brunson had a height advantage of 6 inches over Cooper. That also extended to a 7-inch reach advantage.

Cooper was arguably the less experienced fighter, having had 2 more fights, and made his debut in 2012, 2 years and 1 month later than Brunson, whose first professional fight was in 2010. He had fought 3 less professional rounds, 60 to Brunson's 63.

Cooper III vs Brunson form

Cooper had beaten 4 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 2 of them, going to the judges twice.

In his last fight before this contest, he had won against Brett Cooper at PFL 2022 #6 on 1st July 2022 by knockout in the 1st round at Overtime Elite Arena, Atlanta, United States.

Previous to that, he had lost to Carlos Leal at PFL 2022 #3 on 6th May 2022 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Esports Stadium Arlington, Arlington.

Going into that contest, he had beaten Magomed Magomedkerimov at PFL 2021 #10 on 27th October 2021 by knockout in the 3rd round at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, Las Vegas.

Before that, he had defeated Rory MacDonald at PFL 2021 #7 on 13th August 2021 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Hollywood.

He was victorious against Nikolay Aleksakhin at PFL 2021 #5 on 17th June 2021 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Ocean Casino Resort, Atlantic City.

Brunson had beaten 3 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 1 of them, going the distance twice.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had been beaten by Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 285 on 4th March 2023 by knockout in the 2nd round at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, United States.

Previous to that, he had been defeated by Jared Cannonier at UFC 271 on 12th February 2022 by knockout in the 2nd round at Toyota Center, Houston.

Going into that contest, he had won against Darren Till at UFC Vegas 36 on 4th September 2021 by submission in the 3rd round at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Before that, he had beaten Kevin Holland at UFC Vegas 22 on 20th March 2021 by unanimous decision in their 5 round contest at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

He had defeated Edmen Shahbazyan at UFC Vegas 5 on 1st August 2020 by knockout in the 3rd round at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Ray Cooper had been fighting more than Derek Brunson.

Going to this contest, Ray Cooper had last fought 2 years, 8 months and 20 days ago, while Derek Brunson's last outing had been 2 years and 17 days ago.

Cooper's last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years, 9 months and 4 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 9 months and 1 day. In those fights, he fought a total of 13 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.6 rounds on average.

Brunson's last 5 fights had come over a period of 4 years, 7 months and 20 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 11 months and 4 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 15 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 3 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Cooper III vs Brunson?

Ray Cooper was a 20/21 (-110) underdog going into the contest, while Derek Brunson made his way into the ring at 5/6 (-120) with oddsmakers.