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With his Professional Fighters League season on the line, Steven Ray
delivered in emphatic fashion the first time around against
Anthony
Pettis.

The 32-year-old Scot authored a “Submission of the Year” candidate
at PFL 5 on June 24, tapping Pettis with a modified twister 3:57
into the second round of their regular season bout. Not only did
Ray punch his ticket to the postseason, but the victory set up a
rematch with “Showtime” in the lightweight semifinals on Friday at
Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden.

Rematches don’t normally happen so quickly, but the PFL format
dictates a quick turnaround. That said, “Braveheart” is confident
he’ll have the advantage against Pettis in multiple aspects of
their second meeting, which is slated to headline
PFL 7.

“I would say you could look at it three different ways,” Ray said
during a PFL media session. “He’s got a chance to get revenge and
get back at me. But I think psychologically and mentally I’ve got
the favor. it’s only just five weeks ago that I beat him. There’s
that, and there’s also the fact that I slightly injured him in the
fight as well. There was probably a good few weeks after that that
he had to be careful or rest. I’ve landed that submission in the
gym…it damages the cartilage and the ribs.”

Prior to the finish, Ray enjoyed a fair amount of success by moving
forward, throwing punching combinations and keeping Pettis on his
back foot. As a result, Ray doesn’t expect to need to make too many
changes.

“This time maybe some small, slight adjustments,” he said. “If you
look at the first fight, regardless of the finish, I think the
fight was going well. The first round was fairly close. I just made
some small adjustments in what I can do better to make sure I’m
winning the round and winning the fight. I believe I can win on the
feet, on the ground — just wherever.”

Ray seems to be hitting his stride after ending a retirement that
lasted more than two years. He got stronger over the second half of
his first fight with Alex
Martinez and that upward trend seemed to continue against
Pettis.

“I feel like the PFL system works well for me,” Ray said. “I always
do better when I’m more active … My first year of fighting I had 12
fights, seven semi-pro and five pro in one year. I ended up winning
them all apart from the last one. I just do well when I’m
active.”

While Ray has been a champion before, he knows that a PFL title is
a level above his past experience. He’s now just two fights away
from reaching new heights in his fighting career.

“It’s really motivating,” he said. “I’ve won the Cage Warriors
world title. I’ve been a two-time champion there. Cage Warriors is
more of a European thing, where PFL is right up there with Bellator
and the UFC. That and the bonus of $1 million is a big help as
well.”

IMAK ADMIN

By IMAK ADMIN

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