Derek Brunson books PFL debut vs. Ray Cooper III at championships event

Derek Brunson draws a former PFL champion in his promotional debut.

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.