Scottish scrapper Stevie Ray has explained how he battled back from depression over his premature MMA retirement to come within touching distance of winning $1million.
The former UFC star defeated ex-world champion Anthony Pettis for the second time in six-weeks on Friday night at the Hulu Theatre in Madison Square Garden to earn his way to the PFL finals. He will face Canadian Olivier Aubin-Mercier in the seven-figure match-up having already earned big money by fighting three times in four months.
But just two-and-a-half-years ago, he was told his career was over by a doctor who believed he should never fight again. Just weeks earlier, he had beaten veteran Michael Johnson in his biggest win to date, and due to issues with his visa and the doctors, he decided to call it a day.
However, that decision was never what he wanted, and he continued to compete in grappling competitions before ultimately signing with PFL. And he is now just a victory away from changing his and his family's life forever.
"Even though I've just beat Anthony Pettis twice within six weeks, you'd think that would be the top," Ray explained after the fight. "But to be honest I've got a little bit of an emotional thing with what happened to me two-and-a-half years ago.
"I won the biggest fight of my career at that time, beating Michael Johnson in Singapore and I signed a new four-fight contract with the UFC. Then a little while later, my career kind of came crashing down when I was told by a doctor that I could never fight again and I was then released by the UFC.
"I'm getting a bit emotional because I was a wee bit depressed. I put 12 years of my life trying to get to the top of the sport to provide for my family, so to get told that off the biggest win in my career."
And even after deciding that he would come back, Ray was unsure whether or not he would get back to the big leagues. He trained hard at Higher Level Martial Arts, commuting from Whitburn to Fife daily in order to get to his current shape.
He had struggled with injuries and eventually got back to action, coming back from defeat to earn a spot in the play-offs by submitting Pettis. And he is now in the finals after once again beating the American over a three-round decision.
"It's not just that," he said of his retirement. "It's what I've had to overcome in the two-and-a-half years to then get back in the cage. I did have injuries, but it goes to show what I've done even in the last year, I could have been taken care of better.
Do you believe that Stevie Ray will win the PFL lightweight final? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
"Here I am, I've just fought three times in four months and now I'm one fight away from the million dollars and winning the world title. It's been a rollercoaster the last three years of my life. I remember my manager phoning me and it was over the space of a few weeks. He was wanting me to maybe sign with somewhere else, this is after signing the four-fight deal, a new deal after beating Michael Johnson and then there's talks of going elsewhere.
"I went 'no, not really, I'm happy where I am' and then I got offered a fight and I didn't have a US visa in time, supposedly that was an issue. I've proved that wrong because now I've got a four-year US visa, so I'm not going to lie, I cried a little bit when I was told that was my career over.
"The amount of sacrifice I've had to do - I've got four kids, I've got a wife, I've got a mortgage, a lot going on. To be told that, it's like a fireman being told he's not allowed to be a fireman any more. What do you do with your life? I'm only good at fighting I'm not really good at much else because I've dedicated myself that much."
