One of Scotland’s finest may be on their way out of the UFC and MMA in general. Stevie Ray last fought at home in Glasgow last July when he battled against Paul “The Irish Dragon” Felder in a losing effort. This was Ray’s last fight on his UFC contract. Obviously, the plan was to get a big win at home and start negotiations. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen and now we’re here, wondering whether or not Ray will even fight again at all. This week, he spoke with Ariel Helwani on the MMA Hour about how he’s feeling and his frustrating situation.
“I didn’t think I’d be on the sidelines for so long. I thought I was just risking getting a little more money.
It’s been frustrating, but I’ve been in touch with Sean Shelby. He’s basically said that he’s really busy. He’s got a lot of fighters to match and he’s even got some guys who have won their last fight that are waiting on a new contract. I think he’s just got a really busy workload with Joe Silva leaving recently. But yeah, he’s not told me I’m getting signed and he’s not told me I’m not (getting signed) either.
It’s a bit of a nightmare, but I’m hoping I’m going to get re-signed for London. It’s kind of my fault. Obviously, I fought out my contract, but it’s been a tough few months.
I’m not 100 percent sure to be honest,” he replied when he was asked if he wanted to keep fighting if he doesn’t get an offer from the UFC. “The goal was to get to the UFC. It took me like seven years – a lot of time and a lot of fights – to get there. And if didn’t get signed after getting beaten by Paul Felder, who’s obviously on a tear now, I don’t know…that’s obviously just how we’re getting looked after now I suppose. That’s the most annoying part about it. I don’t think I deserve to not get re-signed. I’ve won against some good guys, Ross Pearson and Joe Lauzon, I just got caught by Felder.
It’s one of those things, it’s part of the fight game. I still have a lot left in me. There are a few guys I would love to get my hands on. The plan would probably be Marc Diakiese. I’d love to take his head off. We had a little bit of beef on Twitter, so yeah, maybe him. I also think Marcin Held could be a nice fight. I’m that frustrated I’m ready to fight anyone.”
Stevie Ray is only age 27 and holds a 21-7 professional record. He’s 5-2 in the UFC and fourteen of his twenty-one career wins coming by way of finish(six knockouts, eight submissions).
Do you think the UFC should re-sign Ray? Who should he fight next if so?
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 12/22/2017