Cooper made his professional debut in 2005 when he was 17 years old and won via TKO. He held a record of 5-4 with a split decision win over future EliteXC and Strikeforce veteran Conor Heun before facing future UFC and Strikeforce veteran Jason Von Flue. 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.
Affliction
On January 24, 2009 Cooper fought Patrick Speight at who he defeated by knockout.
Cooper fought Steve Carl as the main event at where is lost by split decision in the quarterfinals of the.
Non-tournament bouts
In 2010, Cooper moved up to the Middleweight division. He fought Matt Major at where he won by second round technical knockout. In 2011, Cooper fought three times for Bellator in non-tournament bouts. He faced Alexander Shlemenko at where he lost by unanimous decision. Cooper fought Valdir Araujo at where he won by third round technical knockout. Finally, Cooper fought Jared Hess at where he won by unanimous decision. In 2012, Cooper faced Darryl Cobb at Bellator LXXX where he won by unanimous decision.
Cooper fought Norman Paraisy at in the quarterfinals of the. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Cooper faced Dan Cramer in the semifinals at. Despite losing the first two rounds, Cooper rallied to win via TKO in the third round. He faced Doug Marshall in the finals and lost via knockout in the first round. Despite losing in the finals, Cooper was chosen as a replacement for Marshall when his former opponent injured his hand. Having earlier lost to Shlemenko in 2011, Cooper had the rematch with him for the Middleweight title on September 7, 2013 at Bellator 98. He lost the back-and-forth fight via unanimous decision.
Season Ten Middleweight Tournament
In March 2014, Cooper entered the Bellator Season 10 Middleweight tournament. He faced UFC veteran Kendall Grove in the semifinals at Bellator 114. After losing the first round, Cooper rallied back to win the bout via knockout in the second round. He faced Brandon Halsey in the tournament final at Bellator 122 and lost via submission.
Cooper signed with ACB and faced Beslan Isaev at ACB 43: Battle on Sura on 20 August 2016. He won by unanimous decision. Cooper beat second Chechen super star Aslanbek Saidov at ACB 50: Rasulov vs. Goltsov on December 18, 2016. He won the fight via TKO in the third round and became a new ACB welterweight Champion. Cooper faced Mukhamed Berkhamov at on August 19, 2017. He lost the fight via knockout in the second round and lost ACB welterweight title. Cooper faced Saraf Davlatmurodov at on December 9, 2017. He won the fight via TKO in the second round.
