PFL Vs Bellator: Could Cooper III Vs Jackson Steal the Show

Ray Cooper III stepped in to fight Bellator welterweight champion Jason Jackson at the PFL vs. Bellator: Champions event Feb. 24 in Saudi Arabia. The bout will be contested at the contracted weight of 182 pounds.

Cooper III (25-10-1) has only competed once since July 2022, stepping in on short notice to make a statement.

Current PFL welterweight champion Magomed Magomedkerimov was originally stated to face Jackson but was been forced out of his fight against Bellator champion due to undisclosed reasons.

Jason Jackson (17-4) is currently mapping out the most successful spell of his career, winking his last seven fights that culminated with the capture of the Bellator 170-pound Championship. Jackson holds impressive wins over Benson Henderson, Paul Daley and Douglas Lima to earn his shot at Yaroslav Amosov’s belt. Jackson would go on to defeat the unbeaten Ukrainian to win the belt at Bellator 301 in 2023. This is the first time we see Jackson compete since his shocking upset over former Bellator champion Amosov this past November. The third-round knockout ended Amosov’s undefeated run, and Jackson celebrated his first championship since joining the Bellator roster in 2019.

The successful Ray Copper III is a two-time PFL welterweight tournament winner creating his own impressive resume. With wins over Rory MacDonald, Chris Curtis and Magomedkerimov, Cooper III is one of the most succesful fighters in the PFL’s history. Cooper III was victorious in the 2019 and 2021 tournamenfs, although the Hawaiian has lost two of his last three outings. Last time we saw Cooper III, he struggled and failed to meet the middleweight limit against 40-year-old Derek Brunson, going on to a decision loss to the UFC veteran. Cooper III finds himself at (1-1) with Magomedkerimov, losing via submission in their first encounter and then earning a brutal knockout in a rematch two years later. Cooper III aims to show he still has the legs and the fists to compete at the highest level, and a victory over the impressive Jackson would cement that.

MAIN CARD (ESPN+ pay-per-view, 3 p.m. ET)

• Renan Ferreira vs. Ryan Bader

• Impa Kasanganay vs. Johnny Eblen

• Ray Cooper III vs. Jason Jackson

• Jesus Pinedo vs. Patricio Pitbull

• Bruno Cappelozza vs. Vadim Nemkov

• Thiago Santos vs. Yoel Romero

• Clay Collard vs. AJ McKee

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, ESPNews, 12:30 p.m. ET)

• Gabriel Braga vs. Aaron Pico

• Biaggio Ali Walsh (pro debut) vs. Chris Morris

• Claressa Shields vs. Kelsey DeSantis

• Abdullah Al-Qahtani vs. Edukondal Rao

• Malik Basahel vs. Vinicius Pereira