When Scotland’s Stevie Ray decided to walk away from MMA back in 2020, it came as something of a surprise. At the time, the then 30-year-old chalked his decision up to a longstanding knee injury that had made it increasingly difficult for him to perform in the Octagon.
Still, coming off a victory over Michael Johnson, and with a 23-9 overall record in MMA, it seemed like an odd time to retire. In a recent interview, however, Ray gave more insight into his decision—most notably that he had felt at the time that the UFC was trying to push him out of the promotion.