Born and raised in Hawaii, Cooper began wrestling at the age of six and trained under the tutelage of his father, Ray Cooper Jr, a professional fighter. In Hawaii, Cooper was a three-time state champion wrestler, winning his last championship at 173 lbs. Upon graduating at the age of 18, he began his career in professional MMA, turning down a college scholarship to continue wrestling.
Cooper began competing as an amateur in 2011, compiling a record of 3-0 before turning professional in 2012. He then compiled a record of 13-5 before being signed by the Professional Fighters League.
Professional Fighters League
On July 5, 2018, Cooper made is PFL debut at PFL 3 defeating former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Jake Shields via technical knockout in the second round. On August 16, 2018, Cooper defeated Pavel Kusch at PFL 6 in 18 seconds of the first round advancing to the playoffs. On October 20, 2018, Cooper faced Jake Shields in a rematch at PFL 10. He won the fight via technical knockout in the first round to advance to the semifinals of the playoffs. In the semifinals, Cooper defeated Handesson Ferreira in a rematch via technical knockout to advance to the Welterweight finals. Cooper faced Magomed Magomedkerimov in the finals at PFL 11 on December 31, 2018. Cooper lost the fight via a guillotine choke submission in the second round. Curtis said of the fight, “I left my neck out too much. I thought I was winning that fight, you know, I was pressing the action. I just left my neck out. He has some slick guillotines, he has some long arms." Cooper re-entered the welterweight tournament in 2019. He faced Sadibou Sy in the quarterfinals at PFL 7 on October 11, 2019. The fight ended in a draw with Cooper advancing. In the semifinals at the same event, he faced Chris Curtis and won by knockout in the second round. Cooper faced David Michaud in the finals at PFL 10 on December 31, 2019. He won the fight via TKO in the second round to win the 2019 PFL Welterweight Tournament.
Personal life
Cooper has four younger brothers; Bronson, Blake, Baylen and Makoa. All won wrestling state titles as well, with Blake, now a mixed martial artist, winning three. Both Blake and Baylen wrestled for Warner Pacific University where they were NAIA national champions and All-Americans. He also has a younger sister named Makana who is currently competing in the Hawaii High School Girls Wrestling division. Even Cooper's wife is a former high school state wrestling champion. Cooper and his wife have five children.
