Brett Cooper (born July 2, 1987) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Welterweight division.
A professional competitor since 2005, he has also competed for Bellator, PFL, Affliction, Absolute Championship Berkut, IFL, KSW, and Jungle Fight.
Cooper won the bout via TKO and then made his IFL debut in his next fight against future UFC veteran Rory Markham.
Cooper won again via TKO against the Miletich Fighting Systems product and followed this up with another win to bring his record to 8-4 and making his debut in Affliction.
On January 24, 2009, Cooper fought Patrick Speight at Affliction: Day of Reckoning who he defeated by knockout.
Stepping in as a replacement for an injured James Irvin, Cooper was set to face Brian Rogers at Bellator 125 on September 19, 2014.
[10] However, a foot injury forced Cooper out of the bout, he was replaced with promotional newcomer Rafael Carvalho.
Cooper beat second Chechen super star Aslanbek Saidov at ACB 50: Rasulov vs. Goltsov on December 18, 2016.
However, after making weight, he consulted with his lawyers and decided to refuse fighting because of the U.S. Department of Treasury and Great Britain's sanctions policy against Kadyrov and any organization owned by him, this including Absolute Championship Akhmat.
Under these sanctions, it is illegal for any US citizen to do business with any of these entities, meaning that all American fighters could face fines or jail time if they fight for the organization.