Steven
Ray will come out of retirement for a second time for an
opportunity to fight on home soil.
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Ray will lock horns with Lewis Long in
the welterweight main event of a PFL Europe card at the OVO Hydro
in Glasgow, Scotland, on Sept. 28. The promotion announced the
booking on Tuesday. The card marks the organization’s first trip to
Scotland and will also see Robert
Whiteford face Roger
Huerta in a 150-pound catchweight bout in the evening’s
co-headliner. Additionally, the card will feature PFL Europe
postseason bouts, and more Scottish athletes will be added to the
event in the coming weeks.
“We are going to put on an MMA spectacle in Glasgow this September
and make it a truly memorable debut for PFL in Scotland,” said PFL
Europe head of fighter operations Dan Hardy in a
release. “Glasgow is a city brimming with talent, and we’re getting
excited to fill the card with not only Europe’s finest, but with a
real focus on Scotland’s future MMA stars.
Ray is making his MMA return after
announcing his second retirement in June 2023 following the
conclusion of the PFL lightweight season. The 34-year-old Scot
notably reached the PFL finals in 2022 after a pair of victories
over Anthony
Pettis before ultimately falling to Olivier
Aubin-Mercier in the championship. “Braveheart
initially called it a career in 2020 following a 7-4 stint in
the UFC, citing chronic knee issues as the reason for his exit. The
former Cage Warriors champion went 0-2 during his 2023 PFL
campaign, falling to Natan
Schulte and Clay
Collard in lightweight matchups.
A native of Wales, the 35-year-old Long has compiled a 20-7 career
mark while competing for promotions such as Bellator and Cage
Warriors. After a 3-2 run with Bellator from 2020 to 2022, Long
returned to action this past September, scoring a 33-second
submission of Ashley
Griffiths on the regional scene.