With one mighty punch, Ray Cooper III is back in the PFL finals.
On Friday, Cooper narrowly advanced to the semifinals of this season’s welterweight tournament after battling Sadibou Sy to a majority draw in a two-round quarter-final bout (the judges ruled Cooper the winner based on overall performance). However, when it came time to fight Chris Curtis, he left no doubt that he was deserving of another shot at a PFL title.
After using his wrestling to control much of round one, the Hawaiian slugger landed a dynamite right hand early in round two that left Curtis flat on the canvas. It was the 19th career victory by knockout or submission for Cooper.
The finish put an end to Curtis’s bizarre night. After losing a decision to 2018 PFL champion Magomed Magomedkerimov earlier in the evening, Curtis appeared to announce his retirement, only to be called back into action as a replacement when an injury forced Magomedkerimov out of the competition.
See the full finishing sequence from PFL 7 above.
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