Washington, D.C. — Welterweight Mukhamed Berkhamov never looks past his next fight, he said following his win over Ray Cooper III on Friday.
“I never do a plan, like one year, two years,” explained Berkhamov, speaking with media outlets including Cageside Press. “I have just, next fight. That’s it. My focus is on just the next fight.”
That focus paid off, with Berkhamov (17-2, 1NC) earning a split decision win over Cooper, a former two-time PFL welterweight champ. Which left him beaming after the fight.
“We all know who Ray Cooper is, I’m very happy to beat him,” said Berkhamov backstage at The Anthem in Washington, D.C. “Without any words, just happy. Happy, that’s it.”
If there was a surprise in the fight for the Russian standout, a former Bellator MMA athlete, it was that Cooper was tougher than expected. “I thought it was going to be a little bit easy for me, because I feel my wrestling is better than him, but he was ready for me.”
Now on two straight wins, Berkhamov is hoping to stay busy, regardless of promotion. “2025, I want to fight. Doesn’t matter, in tournament, in playoff, grand prix, doesn’t matter. I want to fight,” he noted. That could include at the 2024 PFL Final in November.
“I’m ready, I want to fight in November. If matchmaker or someone says you have in November, it’s a very good place for me.”
Asked if Friday’s win over Ray Cooper III was the biggest of his career, Berkhamov agreed that it was, surpassing a win over another Cooper in 2017.
“Yes, yes. Before, I won one Cooper, this is not Ray, this is Brett Cooper. It was eight years ago, he was champion in a Russian organization. I beat him.”
One fight that remains on Berkhamov’s radar is a rematch with Lorenz Larkin. The pair met twice under the Bellator MMA banner – the first meeting ending in a No Contest, the second seeing Larkin coming away with a knockout.
“I want to fight with him again. I very [much] want to fight him,” exclaimed Berkhamov. “Because I made a big mistake in this fight with him, and I want a rematch as soon as possible.”
Watch the full PFL Washington post-fight press scrum with Mukhamed Berkhamov above.
