Gideon Charles Ray (born May 27, 1973) is a former

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

professional mixed martial artist. A professional from 2000 until 2012, Ray competed for the

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

King of the Cage King of the Cage (KOTC) is a mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion based in Southern California, United States. History KOTC was founded in 1998 by Terry Trebilcock. KOTC features mostly amateur as well as up and coming MMA stars and former mainstr ...

, the Toronto Dragons of the

IFL IFL may refer to: ;American football *Intense Football League, (2004–2008) in the United States, merged into the Indoor Football League *Indoor Football League, (2008–present) in the United States *Intercontinental Football League, a European l ...

, and was featured on

The Ultimate Fighter 4 ''The Ultimate Fighter 4'' is the fourth season of the mixed martial arts reality television series ''The Ultimate Fighter''. It premiered on August 17, 2006, immediately after the conclusion of ''UFC Fight Night 6''. The finale was aired on Nove ...

Background

Born and raised in

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, Ray began training in martial arts from a young age.

Mixed martial arts

Early career

Ray made his professional debut in 2000, competing primarily at Welterweight, he amassed a record of 8–1–1 before appearing for the UFC.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Ray made his UFC debut at UFC 51 on February 5, 2005 against

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

David Loiseau. He was defeated via TKO due to a doctor stoppage in the first round. After picking up a win in the regional circuit, Ray returned to the promotion at

UFC Ultimate Fight Night The year 2005 is the 13th year in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. In 2005 the UFC held 10 events beginning with, ''UFC 51: Super Saturday''. The reality TV series ...

, facing Mike Swick. He was defeated via TKO from a combination of punches just 22 seconds into the fight. After going 4–1 in the regional circuit, Ray tried out for

and made it through to the final cast.

The Ultimate Fighter

In his quarterfinal matchup against

Edwin Dewees Edwin Stanton Dewees (born August 7, 1982 in Florence, South Carolina) is an American mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Heavyweight division. A professional competitor from 2000 to 2014, he was featured on ''The Ultimate Fi ...

, the two fought to a draw after two rounds, which called for a third round. As a cut had opened on Dewees face during the second round and the doctors let the fight continue. Ray lost the third round to a 10-9 decision by the judges. The bout was later called perhaps the bloodiest in Ultimate Fighter history. At The Ultimate Fighter: The Comeback Finale, Ray faced Charles McCarthy. Ray was defeated near the end of the first round with an

armbar An armlock in grappling is a single or double joint lock that hyperextends, hyperflexes or hyperrotates the elbow joint or shoulder joint. An armlock that hyper-extends the arm is known as an armbar, and it includes the traditional armbar, pr ...

submission.

International Fight League

After being released from the UFC, Ray signed with the

, competing for the Toronto Dragons. Ray made his promotional debut at IFL: Connecticut on April 13, 2007. He won via first-round TKO. Ray next faced Brazilian Delson Heleno at IFL: Las Vegas on June 16, 2007. He was defeated via keylock submission in the second round. The two later fought again in a rematch at the World Grand Prix Semifinals later in November of that year, with Heleno winning, this time via first-round

Independent promotions

After leaving the IFL, Ray went 3–7 in his final 10 fights, retiring in 2012.

Mixed martial arts record

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Welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...

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Luke Caudillo Luke Caudillo (born November 30, 1980) is an American former mixed martial artist. He competed in the lightweight division. Mixed martial arts career Ultimate Fighting Championship Caudillo made his UFC debut at UFC Fight Night 10 on June 12, ...

, Decision (unanimous) , Raw Power: MMA , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Sanabis, Bahrain , , - , Loss , align=center, 16–11–1 , Darren Elkins , Decision (unanimous) , Hoosier Fight Club 1: Raise Up , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Valparaiso, Indiana, United States ,

Lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) weight class in the sport of boxing. Notable lightweight boxe ...

debut. , - , Win , align=center, 16–10–1 , Brandon Small , Submission (rear-naked choke) , TFC 17: Total Fight Challenge 17 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:46 ,

Hammond, Indiana Hammond ( ) is a city in Lake County, Indiana. It is part of the Chicago metropolitan area, and the only city in Indiana to border Chicago. First settled in the mid-19th century, it is one of the oldest cities of northern Lake County. As of the ...

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John Alessio John Paul Alessio (born July 5, 1979) is a Canadian retired professional mixed martial artist. A former competitor in Bellator's Lightweight division. A professional competitor since 1998, Alessio has also formerly competed for the UFC where he ...

, TKO (punches) , SuperFights MMA: Night of Combat 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:45 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

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Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

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Pueblo, Colorado Pueblo () is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality that is the county seat and the List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous municipality of Pueblo County, Colorado, Pueblo County, Colorado ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 14–8–1 , Nabil Khatib , Decision (unanimous) , HCF: Crow's Nest , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Gatineau, Quebec, Canada , , - , Loss , align=center, 14–7–1 , Delson Heleno , Submission (armbar) , IFL: World Grand Prix Semifinals , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:57 ,

Hoffman Estates, Illinois Hoffman Estates is a village in Illinois, United States. The village is located primarily in Cook County, with a small section in Kane County. It is a suburb of Chicago. Per the 2020 census, the population was 52,530. The village now serves a ...

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Uncasville, Connecticut Uncasville is an area in the New England town, town of Montville, Connecticut, Montville, Connecticut, United States. It is a Administrative divisions of Connecticut#Village, neighborhood, section of town, village in southeastern Montville, at the ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–5–1 , Charles McCarthy , Submission (armbar) , The Ultimate Fighter: The Comeback Finale , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:43 ,

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Middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have be ...

bout. , - , Loss , align=center, 13–4–1 , Jason MacDonald , Decision (unanimous) , ECC 1: Extreme Cage Combat 1 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 13–3–1 , Jerry Spiegel , TKO , XFO 10: Explosion , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:55 , Lakemoor, Illinois, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 12–3–1 , Brendan Seguin , Submission (heel hook) , KOTC: Redemption on the River , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:52 ,

Moline, Illinois Moline ( ) is a city located in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. With a population of 42,985 in 2020, it is the largest city in Rock Island County. Moline is one of the Quad Cities, along with neighboring East Moline, Illinois, East M ...

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bout. , - , Win , align=center, 11–3–1 , Chris Fontaine , TKO , EFC 4: Extreme Fighting Challenge 4 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, N/A ,

Prince George, British Columbia Prince George is the largest city in northern British Columbia, Canada, with a population of 74,004 in the metropolitan area. It is often called the province's "northern capital" or sometimes the "spruce capital" because it is the hub city for ...

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Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

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bout. , - , Win , align=center, 8–1–1 , Shawn McCully , TKO (submission to strikes) , SMA: Shootfighting Martial Arts , , align=center, N/A , align=center, N/A ,

Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the capital of the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat and largest city of Sangamon County. The city's population was 114,394 at the 2020 census, which makes it the state's seventh most-populous city, the second largest o ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1–1 , Rhomez Brower , TKO , Combat: Do Fighting Challenge 1 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, N/A ,

Cicero, Illinois Cicero (originally known as Hawthorne) is a suburb of Chicago and an Incorporated town#Illinois, incorporated town in Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was ...

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. , - , Draw , align=center, 5–0–1 , Brian Gassaway , Draw , Shooto: Midwest Fighting , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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References

External links

* *
Gideon Ray
IFL Page
International Fight League

Hackney's Combat Academy in Roselle, IL
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ray, Gideon Living people 1973 births American male mixed martial artists Welterweight mixed martial artists African-American mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing judo Mixed martial artists utilizing taekwondo Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu American male taekwondo practitioners American male judoka American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu People from Roselle, Illinois Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople