Steven Ray (born 25 March 1990) is a Scottish

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

who competed in the

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

(UFC),

BAMMA BAMMA (British Association of Mixed Martial Arts) was a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United Kingdom. It premiered on June 27, 2009, and was shown on the television channel Bravo. BAMMA events were shown live on ITV4 in the UK and I ...

and

Cage Warriors Cage Warriors (CW) is an Irish-owned mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in London, England. The promotion was established in 2001 and staged its first MMA event in London in July, 2002. Many MMA stars have made their names under ...

, where he was the Lightweight Champion, as well as the BAMMA British Lightweight Champion. He is competing in the

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

division of the

Professional Fighters League The Professional Fighters League (PFL) is an American mixed martial arts league founded by venture capitalist Donn Davis in 2017 and launched in 2018, following the acquisition and restructuring of the former World Series of Fighting (WSOF) promot ...

(PFL).

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

. 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 COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, 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

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 comeback 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

** Performance of the Night (One time) vs. Leonardo Mafra **UFC.com Awards ***2015: Ranked #8 Newcomer of the Year *

**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 Sherdog is an American website devoted to the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). It also has many forums and discussion pages on the many topics of MMA like records, promotions, etc. The site is a member of the CraveOnline network and provides MM ...

**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 , align=center, 26–13 , Lewis Long , Submission (twister) , PFL Europe 3 (2024) , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:24 ,

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Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

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Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

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New York City, New York New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural harb ...

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Arlington, Texas Arlington is a city in Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area, and is a principal c ...

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Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, Sweden , , - , Win , align=center, 22–8 , Jessin Ayari , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Volkan vs. Smith , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Moncton, New Brunswick Moncton (; ) is the most populous city in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. Situated in the Petitcodiac River Valley, Moncton lies at the geographic centre of the Maritime Provinces. The city has earned the nickname "Hub City" because ...

, Canada , , - , Loss , align=center, 21–8 , Kajan Johnson , Decision (split) , UFC Fight Night: Werdum vs. Volkov , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England , , - , Loss , align=center, 21–7 , Paul Felder , KO (elbows) , UFC Fight Night: Nelson vs. Ponzinibbio , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:57 ,

, Scotland , , - , Win , align=center, 21–6 , Joe Lauzon , Decision (majority) , UFC Fight Night: Swanson vs. Lobov , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 20–6 , Ross Pearson , Decision (split) , UFC Fight Night: Mousasi vs. Hall 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

, Northern Ireland , , - , Loss , align=center, 19–6 , Alan Patrick , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Cyborg vs. Lansberg , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Brasília Brasília ( ; ) is the capital city, capital of Brazil and Federal District (Brazil), Federal District. Located in the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region, it was founded by President Juscelino ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 19–5 , Mickael Lebout , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Holohan vs. Smolka , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, Ireland , , - , Win , align=center, 18–5 , Leonardo Mafra , TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Bisping vs. Leites , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:30 ,

, Scotland , , - , Win , align=center, 17–5 , Marcin Bandel , TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Gonzaga vs. Cro Cop 2 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:35 ,

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

, Poland , , - , Win , align=center, 16–5 ,

Curt Warburton Curt Warburton (born 1981) is an English mixed martial artist from Coundon, County Durham. He formerly trained at Wolfslair MMA Academy in Liverpool, England. Mixed martial arts career Early career Warburton's most notable achievement in the d ...

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , Cage Warriors 73 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:00 ,

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, England , , - , Win , align=center, 15–5 ,

, Decision (split) , Cage Warriors 69 , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, England , , - , Loss , align=center, 14–5 , Ivan Buchinger , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Cage Warriors 63 , , align=center, 4 , align=center, 3:43 ,

, Ireland , , - , Win , align=center, 14–4 , Sean Carter , Submission (rear-naked choke) , rowspan=2, Cage Warriors 60 , rowspan=2, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:40 , rowspan=2,

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 13–4 , Jason Ball , Decision (unanimous) , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–4 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , BAMMA 12 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 12–3 , Dale Hardiman , Decision (unanimous) , BAMMA 11 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 11–3 , Stu Barrs , TKO (punches) , Caledonian Combat 1: The Gathering , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:37 ,

Inverness Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...

, Scotland , , - , Win , align=center, 10–3 , Qasim Shafiq , Submission (armbar) , On Top 5 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:02 ,

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Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

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, Scotland , , - , Win , align=center, 8–2 , John Quinn , KO (punches) , On Top 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:57 ,

, Scotland , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–2 ,

Nico Musoke Nicholas "Nico" Musoke (born April 5, 1986) is a Swedish mixed martial artist who competes in the middleweight division of Swedish promotion Superior Challenge. A professional mixed martial artist since 2007, Musoke has also competed in the Ultima ...

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , rowspan=2, On Top 2 , rowspan=2, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:56 , rowspan=2,

, Scotland , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , Merv Mulholland , Submission (triangle armbar) , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:59 , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Scott Ward , TKO (punches) , Scottish Fight Challenge 4 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 2:37 ,

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, Scotland , , - , Win , align=center, 5–1 , Davey Parker , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , Total Combat 39 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:14 ,

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city in north east England **County Durham, a ceremonial county which includes Durham *Durham, North Carolina, a city in North Carolina, United States Durham may also refer to: Places ...

, England , , - , Loss , align=center, 4–1 , Dan Hope , Technical Submission (armbar) , Honour 4 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:00 ,

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

, Scotland , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Mark Young , Submission (heel hook) , rowspan=2, Scottish Fight Challenge 3: Showdown , rowspan=2, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:00 , rowspan=2,

, Scotland , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Vincent del Guerra , Decision (unanimous) , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Loic Marty , Submission (brabo choke) , Brawl at the Bay , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:00 ,

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

, Scotland , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Shaun Edmondson , KO (punch) , Scottish Fight Challenge 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:54 ,

, Scotland ,

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ray, Stevie Living people 1990 births Scottish male mixed martial artists Lightweight mixed martial artists Welterweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Muay Thai Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Scottish male kickboxers Scottish Muay Thai practitioners Scottish practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Sportspeople from Kirkcaldy 21st-century Scottish sportsmen