Stevie Ray Details Daughter’s Brain Surgeries During PFL 2023 Regular Season

Steven Ray (25-12, 2-3 PFL) finds himself in a win-or-go-home situation as he prepares to face fellow Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Clay Collard Friday at PFL 6 2023 Regular Season. Ahead of his assignment on June 23, “Braveheart” shared that his daughter recently had brain surgery and has been recovering well, although some recent complications forced her to undergo a third surgery in three weeks. Ray expressed gratitude for the support from his wife and his daughter's grandmother, allowing him to focus on his training. The Scottish fighter mentioned that it was challenging to balance training and being there for his daughter while she was in the hospital, to the point that he even trained and did strength and conditioning exercises at the venue to keep up his fitness. He now plans to use the experience as motivation for his fight, knowing that he had to train under challenging circumstances.

Ray also expressed his frustration with the many PFL fighters caught by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, whom he calls “cheaters.” After mentioning there might still be people still relying on banned substances, Ray acknowledged what happened is particularly disheartening because he is fighting clean and dealing with the challenges of training naturally.

“They're all cheating f-cks, that’s what. They're just all f-cking cheating, man. I've got such a f-cking thing against it now because I'm fairly three years old [in the PFL], and it is tough, man. This PFL tournament, there's days I'm turning up the train and I'm in so much pain, I don't want to train, I'm so tired, but I just get on with it, you know? When I see these all f-cks juiced up, getting an advantage… That’s why I've got such a thing against it because I'm obviously not on it. I'm doing it natural and it's tough to see people cheating. I'm just glad they're getting found out now. I still do think there's people out there that's cheating and not getting caught.”

Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro
(00:26) Facing Collard
(01:38) Commenting on Collard’s fighting style
(02:20) Losing to Schulte
(03:59) Updates on his daughter’s health state
(06:38) His take on fighters popping up for banned substances
(09:00) The NSAC tests
(10:18) Outro