Ray Cooper III put Magomed Magomedkerimov to sleep with a vicious right hook to get revenge and the welterweight belt at the 2021 PFL Finals.
Ray Cooper III wanted another shot at Magomed Magomedkerimov after losing to him during the 2018 PFL Championship, and he got his revenge in style with an incredible knockout.
It was a back-and-forth affair between Cooper and Magomedkerimov from the opening minutes, as both earned big takedowns and landed some heavy strikes on the feet. Cooper nearly finished Magomedkerimov in the second with a choke from top mount, but somehow Magomedkerimov was able to work out of it as the round ended.
It looked to be trouble for Cooper early in the third, as Magomedkerimov controlled the pace on the feet and landed some heavy uppercuts and knees to the body. But, Magomedkerimov would gas himself out and allow Cooper to gain control of the clinch.
After the two top welterweights were brought back up to the feet, Cooper poured it on with a powerful right hook out of nowhere to earn the TKO win over Magomedkerimov. This was the first PFL loss of Magomedkerimov’s career and the second championship for Cooper with the league.
How did Ray Cooper III and Magomed Magomedkerimov get to the 2021 PFL Finals?
Cooper and Magomedkerimov entered their championship fight with a lot of familiarity between the two of them, three years after their first title fight. Magomedkerimov would pull off the upset that season over Cooper by second-round submission.
Both had relatively different routes to the 2021 PFL Finals. Cooper entered this season as the defending champion but put on a dominant performance against the favorite, Rory MacDonald. In a matchup that many felt could take place in the Finals, Cooper wrestled his way to a win over MacDonald in the semifinals.
Magomedkerimov earned his lone win of the 2021 regular season over Curtis Millender by submission, before earning a unanimous decision win over short-notice replacement Sadibou Sy. He was supposed to fight the No. 1 seed, Joao Zeferino before he pulled out due to injury.