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.”
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