Stevie Ray

Steven Ray (born 25 March 1990) is a Scottish mixed martial artist who competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Professional Fighters League (PFL), BAMMA and Cage Warriors, where he was the Lightweight Champion, as well as the BAMMA British Lightweight Champion.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career Ray started as an amateur, going 7–0, his first fight was a short notice fight, at Middleweight, for which he weighed in 175 lbs. His next fights were at Welterweight.

Ray made his professional mixed martial arts debut in June 2010. Ray competed predominantly in the United Kingdom where he amassed a record of 16–5 before joining the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

He also won a pro muay thai fight against Scott Morrison, class B rules, super middleweight division, by unanimous decision on 12 May 2012.

Ultimate Fighting Championship Ray made his promotional debut as a short notice replacement for an injured Jason Saggo against Marcin Bandel on 11 April 2015 at UFC Fight Night 64. Ray won the one-sided fight via TKO in the second round.

Ray faced Leonardo Mafra on 18 July 2015 at UFC Fight Night 72. He won the fight via TKO in the first round and earned a Performance of the Night bonus.

Ray faced Mickael Lebout on 24 October 2015 at UFC Fight Night 76. He won the bout by unanimous decision.

Ray was expected to face Jake Matthews on 8 July 2016 at The Ultimate Fighter 23 Finale. However, Ray pulled out of the fight in early June due to visa issues and was replaced by Kevin Lee.

Ray next faced Alan Patrick on 24 September 2016 at UFC Fight Night 95. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Ray faced Ross Pearson on 19 November 2016 at UFC Fight Night 99. He won the fight via split decision.

Ray next faced Joe Lauzon on 22 April 2017 at UFC Fight Night 108. After taking a beating and coming close to being finished by Lauzon in the first round, Ray came back strong in the second and third rounds when Lauzon started to fade because of the energy he used in the first round. After a close fight, Ray was awarded a majority decision victory.

Ray faced Paul Felder on 16 July 2017 at UFC Fight Night 113. He lost the fight by knockout in the first round after being dropped with a knee strike and subsequently finished off with a series of elbows, marking the first time he's been finished by strikes in his MMA career. The fight with Felder also marked the last fight of his prevailing contract with UFC.

As the first bout of his new four-fight contract, Ray faced Kajan Johnson on 17 March 2018 at UFC Fight Night 127. He lost the fight via split decision.

Ray faced Jessin Ayari on 27 October 2018 at UFC Fight Night 138 He won the fight by controversial unanimous decision.

Ray faced Leonardo Santos on 1 June 2019 at UFC Fight Night: Gustafsson vs. Smith. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round.

Ray faced Michael Johnson at UFC on ESPN+ 20 on 26 October 2019. He won the fight via majority decision.

Ray was expected to face Marc Diakiese on 21 March 2020 at UFC Fight Night: Woodley vs. Edwards. However, Ray was removed from the card in late-January for undisclosed reasons. Diakiese is expected to remain on the card against promotional newcomer Jai Herbert However, due to COVID-19 pandemic, the event was cancelled.

On 21 September 2020 Ray announced his retirement from competing in MMA due to ongoing knee injuries. He would later reveal that his retirement was due to the UFC cutting him from the promotion due to turning down a fight due to visa issues stemming from prior legal problems, something which he claims the UFC was already aware of.

Professional Fighters League In 2021, Ray came out of retirement and signed with Professional Fighters League.

2022 Season Ray faced Alexander Martinez on 20 April 2022 at PFL 1. He lost the bout via unanimous decision.

Ray faced Anthony Pettis on 24 June 2022 at PFL 5. He won the bout in the second round via modified body triangle.

Ray rematched Anthony Pettis in the Semifinals of the Lightweight tournament on 5 August 2022 at PFL 7. Once again, Ray won the bout, this time via unanimous decision.

Ray faced Olivier Aubin-Mercier in the finals of the Lightweight tournament on 25 November 2022 at PFL 10. He lost the bout after being knocked out in the second round.

2023 Season In the 2023 season, Ray faced Natan Schulte on April 14, 2023 at PFL 3. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Ray faced Clay Collard on June 23, 2023 at PFL 6. He lost the fight via TKO in the second round.

After the loss, Ray announced his retirement for the second time.

Return from retirement Ray announced his return from retirement and would come back to fight Lewis Long in the main event of PFL Europe 3 in his home country of Scotland on September 28, 2024. He would win via first round submission with another modified body triangle which Ray has named as being a Scottish Twister.

Professional grappling career Stevie Ray has also competed in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, in 2011 he won the Scotia Cup 2011, in the middleweight (under 82,3 kg/181 lbs) division at white belt and the Glasgow Open 2011, in the medium-heavyweight (under 88,3 kg/194 lbs) division at white belt.

In 2012 he won Scotia Cup 2012, in the medium-heavyweight (under 88,3 kg/194 lbs) division at blue belt and the Glasgow Open 2012, in the middleweight (under 82,3 kg/181 lbs) division at blue belt.

In 2013 he placed 3rd in the Glasgow No Gi Open 2013, in the middleweight (under 82,3 kg/181 lbs) advanced division.

Ray fought Ellis Younger in a no gi grappling match, at 176 lbs / 80 kg, on 25 August 2018, in an event called Scottish Grappling Invitational 2. He lost the match on points.

On 20 April 2019, Ray competed in the Edinburgh Open 2019, he took 1st place in the Middleweight (82,3 kg/181 lbs) Gi - purple belt division and also took 1st place in the Middleweight (79,5 kg/175 lbs) No Gi - purple belt division.

Ray made his return to the grappling scene on 19 August 2019 at Polaris 11, taking on former Cage Warriors champion Paddy Pimblett in a - 77 kg nogi bout, winning the match by inside heel hook.

Ray competed against Craig Ewers, at Polaris 18, at 170 lbs/77 kg, on 27 November 2021, winning the match by submission via modified Twister.

Ray competed against Shane Curtis at Grapplefest 17, at 198 lbs/90 kg on November 18, 2023. He won the match by submitting Curtis with a heel hook.

Ray faced Ibrahima Mane, at Middleweight, 185 lbs/84 kg, on the main card of ADXC 4 on May 18, 2024. He won the match by submission in the first round.

Ray competed against Jed Hue at Polaris 28 on June 15, 2024. He lost the match by decision.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts Ultimate Fighting Championship Performance of the Night (One time) vs. Leonardo Mafra UFC.com Awards 2015: Ranked #8 Newcomer of the Year BAMMA BAMMA British Lightweight Championship Cage Warriors Fighting Championship CWFC Lightweight Championship (Two times) One successful title defence CWFC 2013 Lightweight Tournament Winner Total Combat TC European Welterweight Championship On Top Promotions OTP 2011 Welterweight Tournament Runner-up Scottish Fight Challenge SFC Welterweight Championship SFC Welterweight Tournament Winner Sherdog 2022 Submission of the Year Violent Money TV VMTV x PFL Comeback of the Year 2022 Jits Magazine MMA Submission of the Year vs. Lewis Long at PFL Europe 3 (2024)

Brazilian jiu-jitsu Scotia Cup Scotia Cup 2011 white belt middleweight (under 82,3 kg/181 lbs) – 1st place Scotia Cup 2012 blue belt medium-heavyweight (under 88,3 kg/194 lbs) – 1st place Glasgow Open Glasgow Open 2011 white belt medium-heavyweight (under 88,3 kg/194 lbs) – 1st place Glasgow Open 2012 blue belt middleweight (under 82,3 kg/181 lbs) – 1st place Edinburgh Open Edinburgh Open 2019 purple belt middleweight division (under 82,3 kg/181 lbs) - 1st place

Submission grappling Glasgow No Gi Open Glasgow Open 2013 advanced middleweight division (under 82,3 kg/181 lbs) – 3rd place Edinburgh Open Edinburgh Open 2019 middleweight division (under 79,5 kg/175 lbs) - 1st place

Mixed martial arts record Win

Lewis Long Submission (twister) PFL Europe 3 (2024)

Glasgow, Scotland Loss

Clay Collard TKO (punches) PFL 6 (2023)

Atlanta, Georgia, United States Loss

Natan Schulte Decision (unanimous) PFL 3 (2023)

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Loss

Olivier Aubin-Mercier KO (punch) PFL 10 (2022)

New York City, New York, United States Win

Anthony Pettis Decision (unanimous) PFL 7 (2022)

New York City, New York, United States Win

Anthony Pettis Submission (twister) PFL 5 (2022)

Atlanta, Georgia, United States Loss

Alexander Martinez Decision (unanimous) PFL 1 (2022)

Arlington, Texas, United States Win

Michael Johnson Decision (majority) UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Askren

Kallang, Singapore Loss

Leonardo Santos KO (punch) UFC Fight Night: Gustafsson vs. Smith

Stockholm, Sweden Win

Jessin Ayari Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Volkan vs. Smith

Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada Loss

Kajan Johnson Decision (split) UFC Fight Night: Werdum vs. Volkov

London, England Loss

Paul Felder KO (elbows) UFC Fight Night: Nelson vs. Ponzinibbio

Glasgow, Scotland Win

Joe Lauzon Decision (majority) UFC Fight Night: Swanson vs. Lobov

Nashville, Tennessee, United States Win

Ross Pearson Decision (split) UFC Fight Night: Mousasi vs. Hall 2

Belfast, Northern Ireland Loss

Alan Patrick Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Cyborg vs. Lansberg

Brasília, Brazil Win

Mickael Lebout Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Holohan vs. Smolka

Dublin, Ireland Win

Leonardo Mafra TKO (punches) UFC Fight Night: Bisping vs. Leites

Glasgow, Scotland Win

Marcin Bandel TKO (punches) UFC Fight Night: Gonzaga vs. Cro Cop 2

Kraków, Poland Win

Curt Warburton Submission (rear-naked choke) Cage Warriors 73

Newcastle, England Win

Curt Warburton Decision (split) Cage Warriors 69

London, England Loss

Ivan Buchinger Submission (rear-naked choke) Cage Warriors 63

Dublin, Ireland Win

Sean Carter Submission (rear-naked choke)

Win

Jason Ball Decision (unanimous)

Loss

Curt Warburton Decision (unanimous) BAMMA 12

Newcastle, England Win

Dale Hardiman Decision (unanimous) BAMMA 11

Birmingham, England Win

Stu Barrs TKO (punches) Caledonian Combat 1: The Gathering

Inverness, Scotland Win

Qasim Shafiq Submission (armbar) On Top 5

Glasgow, Scotland Loss

Assan Njie Submission (guillotine choke) Cage Warriors Fight Night 4

Dubai, United Arab Emirates Win

Vaidas Valancius Submission (rear-naked choke) On Top 4

Glasgow, Scotland Win

John Quinn KO (punches) On Top 3

Glasgow, Scotland Loss

Nico Musoke Submission (rear-naked choke)

Win

Merv Mulholland Submission (triangle armbar)

Win

Scott Ward TKO (punches) Scottish Fight Challenge 4

Stirling, Scotland Win

Davey Parker Submission (arm-triangle choke) Total Combat 39

Durham, England Loss

Dan Hope Technical Submission (armbar) Honour 4

Aberdeen, Scotland Win

Mark Young Submission (heel hook)

Win

Vincent del Guerra Decision (unanimous)

Win

Loic Marty Submission (brabo choke) Brawl at the Bay

Fife, Scotland Win

Shaun Edmondson KO (punch) Scottish Fight Challenge 2

Stirling, Scotland