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Ray Cooper III Dominates Rory MacDonald, PFL 2021 Playoffs Sets Two Finals


Two 2021 Professional Fighters League finals are now set after tonight's PFL 7 event.

The main event saw PFL's prized signee Rory MacDonald go up against promotional mainstay and 2019 welterweight division winner Ray Cooper III. With a spot in the finals on the line, MacDonald (22-8-1) came out looking to grapple. However, it was Cooper III (23-7-1) that wound up taking down "Red King" and locking in an arm-triangle choke before the round expired. The second and third round was more of the same as MacDonald had nothing for Cooper III's wrestling. All three judges scored the fight 30-27 for Cooper III.

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The co-main event was another welterweight semifinal that saw No. 4 seed Magomed Magomedkerimov faced alternate Sadibou Sy. Magomedkerimov (28-5) showed off his superior grappling early as he took down Sy (9-6-2, 1 NC) and then controlled the entire round while on top. The second frame featured more action on the feet, but ended on the ground with the Russian on top. After a largely uneventful Round 3, Magomedkerimov took a unanimous decision with scores of 30-27 across the board. With the victory, Magomedkerimov will now face Cooper III in a rematch of the 2018 welterweight finals that saw the Russian win.

The first PFL lightweight semifinal bout saw No. 1 seed Loik Radzhabov face fourth-ranked Alex Martinez. The fight went all three rounds with Radzhabov (15-3-1) generally controlling the action on the feet and landing more damaging strikes than Martinez (8-2, 1 NC). All three judges agreed as Radzhabov was given the nod with scorecards of 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28. With the win, "Jaguar Paw" avenges a split decision loss to Martinez earlier this year.

In the lightweight finals, Radzhabov will face No. 3 seed Raush Manfio, who was able to defeat Clay Collard. This was another bout mostly contested on the feet with Collard (20-9, 1 NC) being the busier fighter and showing his pro boxing experience. However, Manfio (14-3) was able to land the harder shots and was the fresher fighter in Round 3. In the end, the fight came down to how the second frame was scored and the judges ultimately preferred the work of Manfio, who earned a unanimous decision on a trio of 29-28 cards.

In preliminary action, Gleison Tibau (37-15) picked up an impressive arm-triangle choke win over Micah Terrill (15-10, 1 NC) in just 2:17 of action; Olivier Aubin-Mercier (13-5) picked up a hard-fought decision win over Darrell Horcher (14-5) with scores of 29-28, 30-26 and 29-27; Brett Cooper (28-15) knocked out Tyler Hill (10-6) with a barrage of powerful punches at the 2:32 mark of Round 1; Magomed Umalatov (11-0) picked up a unanimous decision over Leandro Silva (25-10-1, 1 NC) with a trio of 29-28 scorecards in his favor; Michael Lombardo (12-2, 1 NC) picked up a TKO win via devastating calf kicks over Kyron Bowen (9-7); and Elvin Espinoza (6-0) choked out Hopeton Stewart (5-2) with a rear-naked choke at 2:45 of Round 1.
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