A retirement moment doesn’t get much sweeter than what Stevie Ray pulled off at 2024 PFL Europe 3 – if that’s indeed what happens.
In front of a hometown crowd in Glasgow, beloved Scottish fighter Ray (26-13) won in spectacular fashion when he pulled off a modified version of the twister, dubbed by the commentary team as the “Scottish Twister,” against a befuddled Lewis Long (20-8) at the 4:24 mark of Round 1 in the 150-pound catchweight bout at OVO Hydro.
Ray, who has pulled off a somewhat similar submission before against former UFC champ Anthony Pettis under the PF banner in 2022, went to work from bottom position and unexpectedly forced Long to tap out.
Check out the replay of the spectacular finish below (via X):
https://x.com/PFLEurope/status/1840142890732798298
THE SCOTTISH TWISTER RETURNS! 🏴
Stevie Ray stops Lewis Long via submission in front of his family and his home crowd! #PFLGlasgow | LIVE NOW ON DAZN pic.twitter.com/J5oxpXNQIq
— PFL Europe (@PFLEurope) September 28, 2024
After the fight, Ray relished the moment but flip-flopped on the idea of this being his final fight. He said it could be, but it’s hard to walk away knowing he can still make money in the sport.
“It was supposed to be my last fight (but) to be honest, I’m not 100 percent sure,” Ray said in his post-fight interview with Dan Hardy. “There’s so many ups and downs in this sport, so it’s tough. But I love this. When it gets to that point you’re like, ‘I’m not f*cking leaving.’ Maybe one more. I’ve not got a contract or anything now. I’m technically a free agent. Obviously, I want to stay with PFL, but this is why I fight. For my family. I used to fight because I love it. I still do love it, but the main reason I fight now is to provide for these five (family members) in the cage. They cost a lot of money, so Donn Davis, Pete Murray, if you want to see this again, get the wallet out.”
