ARLINGTON, Texas — Canadian welterweight Rory (Red King) MacDonald defeated American Brett (Fudoshin) Cooper on Friday, submitting the American veteran in the first round of PFL 3.
ARLINGTON, Texas — Canadian welterweight Rory (Red King) MacDonald defeated American Brett (Fudoshin) Cooper on Friday, submitting the American veteran in the first round of PFL 3.
The six-foot MacDonald, a former Bellator champion and UFC contender, had a five-inch reach advantage and was a 5-1 favorite. He had predicted a first-round finish.
The Montreal-based fighter wasted no time landing a single-leg takedown, transitioning to side control and then the mounting position with more than three minutes remaining in the round.
MacDonald (23-8-1) fired shots from above as Cooper tried to cover. Cooper (28-16-0) then gave his back and MacDonald blocked a rear-naked choke that forced a bunt at 2 minutes, 23 seconds.
MacDonald called it a “fairly flawless victory”.
“I did what I came here to do. I want to go out and dominate and show my potential,” he added.
Unlike other MMA promotions, the Professional Fighters League features a regular season, playoffs, and a championship. The four fighters in each division who earn the most points in the regular season advance to the playoffs, with the two winners meeting for the PFL title and a US$1 million payday.
Friday’s PFL 3 main event at eSports Stadium in Arlington, Texas saw American Kayla Harrison, a two-time Olympic judo champion, open her campaign for a third consecutive PFL lightweight title against Russia’s Marina Mokhnatkina. .
Ray Cooper III of Hawaii, who won the welterweight title last year, faced Brazilian Carlos Leal Miranda in the co-main event.
The 2022 PFL season kicked off with fight cards on April 20 and 28. The regular season continues with performances on June 17 and 24 and July 1.
MacDonald earned three points for the win and another three for finishing in the first round.
Earlier on the card, New Zealand lightweight Genah (Fabioso) Fabian (5-2-0) won a 29-28 unanimous decision over Canada’s Julia (The Jewel) Budd (16-4-0).
But because Fabian missed the weight (he tipped the scales at 160.8 pounds on Thursday, 4.8 over the non-title lightweight limit) a point was taken from him and the three points he would have racked up for the win went to Budd, a former keeper. of the Bellator title. who weighed 154.5 pounds.
Barring injuries, Budd and MacDonald will each have one more regular-season fight before the playoffs in August. The championship card will take place on a yet-to-be-announced date in the fall.
Budd’s only previous losses were to Amanda Nunes, (Rowdy) Ronda Rousey and Cris Cyborg, considered three of the best female fighters in the sport.
MacDonald joined the PFL in December 2019 but had to wait until last year to make his debut after the pandemic wiped out the 2020 season.
He opened 2021 with a first round submission win over Curt (Curtious) Millender, but then suffered a controversial split decision loss to Brazilian Gleison Tibau (mmajunkie.com called him the steal of the year) and a unanimous decision loss to Ray Cooper III in the welterweight semifinals last August.
Like Brett Cooper, MacDonald had his first professional fight as a teenager in 2005 and has plenty of experience. The Montreal-based fighter went 9-4-0 in the UFC with a memorable and bloody loss to (Ruthless) welterweight champion Robbie Lawler at UFC 189 in 2015.
In 2017, MacDonald moved to Bellator, where he went 3-2-1 and won and lost the 170-pound title.
Brett Cooper has fought in Bellator and many other promotions.
MacDonald took three months off after the loss of Ray Cooper before returning to coaching. He divided his preparations between Tristar, his longtime gym base in Montreal, and Austin, Texas, where he trained alongside former UFC fighter Tim Kennedy, a member of the US Army Special Forces, and renowned trainer of Brazilian jiu-jitsu John Danaher.
After a cautious opening, Budd caught Fabian’s leg in a kick attempt and forced her closer to the fence where she was looking to take down the Kiwi. Fabian held out but was eventually dropped on a trip with two minutes remaining in the round. Budd went into half guard and briefly caught Fabian’s arm under his leg. But Fabian struggled to get back up.
Fabian started scoring with strikes in the second round and fought off a late takedown attempt from Budd.
The two grabbed the fence early in the third, exchanging knees, with Budd looking for another takedown. Fabian initiated the clinch but Budd reversed position and went for a takedown.
Fabian fought off the takedown attempt and went on the attack, and the fight went to the ground with Budd in the background.
Fabian outclassed the 38-year-old from Port Moody, BC, 57-52 with both fighters scoring a takedown.
Budd signed with PFL last September and got a taste of the promotion in October when she won a decision over Kaitlin (The Striking) Viking in October.
The 32-year-old Fabian improved to 4-2-0 in the PFL and returned to the win column after Harrison stopped him in the first round of the 2021 playoffs.
Fabian was a star sprinter and triple jumper as a teenager, before switching to rowing. He fell in love with combat sports on a trip to Thailand and eventually made the transition to MMA after winning a kickboxing world title.
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This report from The Canadian Press was first published on May 6, 2022
the canadian press
Reference-www.tricitynews.com