PFL 3 will be headlined by a welterweight showdown between former World Series of Fighting and Strikeforce champion Jake Shields and Ray Cooper III. The card takes place at the Charles E. Smith Center, with the main card airing on NBC Sports Network. The preliminary draw will stream on Facebook.

Over the course of its regular season, fighters from six different weight classes will compete to earn a spot in a single-elimination playoff, where the winner in each weight class will be crowned champion and receive a $1 million payout.

Other notable UFC veterans competing at PFL 3 include welterweights Rick Story, Yuri Villefort and Paul Bradley. Also on the card at 170 pounds is Abubakar Nurmagomedov, who is the cousin of reigning UFC lightweight king Khabib Nurmagomedov. Fighters with Octagon experience at middleweight on the event include the likes of John Howard, Eddie Gordon, Gasan Umalatov, Bruno Santos, Danillo Villefort, and Bojan Velickovic.

Shields twice squared off against Cooper III’s father, Ray Cooper, between 2002 and 2004, splitting a pair of bouts with the Hawaii native. The 39-year-old Cesar Gracie Fight Team member is 32-9-1 in his professional career and is coming off a three-round verdict over Danny Davis Jr. at PFL “Everett” in July 2017.

The 25-year-old Cooper III owns a 13-4 career mark and has finished eight of his triumphs by knockout or technical knockout and five via submission.

T. (Crotchfield, 2018). Jake Shields vs. Ray Cooper III Tops 12-Bout PFL 3 Lineup in Washington, D.C. on July 5. Retrieved from http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/Jake-Shields-vs-Ray-Cooper-III-Tops-12Bout-PFL-3-Lineup-in-Washington-DC-on-July-5-136643.).