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Ray Cooper III, left, in action against Zane Kamaka during their regular season mixed martial arts bout at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y., tonight. Cooper won via 2nd round submission.
In a fight he dubbed “personal,” Ray Cooper III submitted fellow Hawaii-based mixed martial arts fighter — and his adopted cousin — Zane Kamaka in a Professional Fighters League match Thursday night in New York.
Cooper, who was the welterweight division runner-up in the PFL’s debut season in 2018, got Kamaka to submit to a modified rear naked choke with less than a minute to go in the second of three scheduled rounds at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y.
The fight was broadcast nationally on ESPN2.
Kamaka spent much of the second round as he did during the first — on his back, looking for an opening to use his Brazilian jiu-jitsu skills while Cooper repeatedly attempted to rain down blows from above. Cooper, who started the round looking like he was taunting Kamaka in the cage, kept the pressure ratcheted up, eventually passing from full- to half-guard.
With about 45 seconds to go in the second round, Cooper slipped past Kamaka’s guard and the two scrambled for a moment before Cooper got behind him, dragged him back down to the canvas and secured the mount.
As Kamaka worked to try and get himself free, he tried turning his upper body to the left, which allowed Cooper to slip his arms around Kamaka’s neck and attempt the choke while still partially on top of him.
Kamaka tapped shortly after.
Despite the submission win, Cooper and Kamaka continued to jaw at each other after the fight was over before being separated by referee Yves Lavigne. The bad blood seemed to simmer down a bit, however, as Cooper was seen approaching Kamaka and giving him a hug as the broadcast cut to commercial.
Cooper, who is now 18-6 in his professional MMA career, didn’t have to take this fight after Kamaka came in nearly two pounds overweight during weigh-ins. As a result, Kamaka will have to forfeit 20 percent of his pay for the bout and Cooper was awarded three points in PFL’s scoring system, regardless of Thursday night’s outcome.
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