PFL 7 Odds, Picks and Betting Preview – MacDonald vs Cooper III

• The welterweight and lightweight semifinals take place on Friday, August 13
• Rory MacDonald takes on Ray Cooper III in the main event
• See the odds, picks, and betting preview for the full 2021 PFL 7 main card, below

The Professional Fighters League is back for the first event of the playoffs on Friday, August 13. The promotion has the welterweight and lightweight semifinals take place as well as non-tournament bouts filling out the prelims. In the main event, former UFC fighter and former Bellator champ, Rory MacDonald takes on the 2019 PFL winner, Ray Cooper III.

For those that might not know, PFL is a regular-season and playoff format like stick and ball sports. The winner of the tournament also gets $1 million at the end of the year.

PFL 7 main card airs live on ESPN2 at 9 PM EST on Friday, August 13 from the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Florida. The table below shows odds for the main card at DraftKings followed by best bets.

PFL 7 Odds

All odds taken August 11 at DraftKings

Who Advances To the Finals?

Rory MacDonald has not looked the same ever since his legendary fight against Robbie Lawler but he is still an elite welterweight but sometimes struggles to pull the trigger. Cooper III, meanwhile, has been one of the faces of PFL and is the reigning champ at welterweight.

MacDonald & Cooper III Recent Fights

Rory MacDonald was known as a striker and showed off his toughness against Lawler at UFC 189 for the welterweight title in one of the best fights ever. Since all the damage he took in that fight, he has talked about not wanting to hurt anyone as he has started to become religious and that hesitancy was the reason why he lost his Bellator title to Lima. In his last fight against Tibau, MacDonald was not active as he needed to be but clearly won all three rounds and his loss to Tibau is considered the biggest robbery of 2021 so far.

Against Cooper III, MacDonald will need to throw punches right away or the Hawaiian will be able to find his groove as he is a volume puncher who has legit KO power. Both MacDonald and Cooper III also have underrated ground games.

MacDonald & Cooper III Stats

This is a phenomenal fight and one that should be very competitive. Early on, I expect MacDonald to use his jab to keep Cooper III at distance and not let him get inside. The leg kicks of the Canadian will also be big, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him try and take Cooper III down.

Ultimately, I expect MacDonald to win the first round by keeping Cooper III at a distance before the Hawaiian tries to bring the fight to the Canadian in the later rounds. Unfortunately, MacDonald is a great technical fighter and I expect him to be able to keep the distance and outstrike Cooper III to win a decision.

Pick: Rory MacDonald (-120)

Can Sy Pull Off the Upset?

Magomed Magomedkerimov should’ve gone to the finals in 2019 but PFL used to have quarterfinals and semis on the same night and he wasn’t medically cleared to fight in the semis. Now, he gets a chance to prove he is one of the best welterweights if he can get past Sy and earn his way into the finals.

Magomedkerimov & Sy Recent Fights

As the odds suggest, Magomed Magomedkerimov should be able to win this fight and win with ease.

The Russian should be able to take Sy down early and control him on the ground and land some ground and pound. Once he starts to damage the Swede, I expect Magomedkerimov to eventually get ahold of the neck and submit Sy.

Pick: Magomed Magomedkerimov (-720)

Other PFL 7 Picks:

• Clay Collard (-160): Collard should be able to keep the fight standing and just pick apart Manfio and earn a decision.
• Loik Radzhabov (-160): Radzhabov lost a controversial split to Alex Martinez earlier this year but this time, I expect Radzhabov to get his revenge with his own decision win.