PFL lightweight Stevie Ray has revealed that retirement could be next for him, saying 2023 will probably be his last year.
The Scottish MMA legend has been a professional since 2010, competing in Cage Warriors, UFC, and now the PFL.
He reached the 2022 PFL lightweight finals where he just fell short against Olivier Aubin-Mercier. Scheduled to face Clay Collard at PFL 6 on June 23, the 33-year-old hopes to put together one last run to win the PFL lightweight tournament and the $1 million prize.
In an exclusive interview with Combat Sports UK, he discussed his potential plans to call it a day on his career.
He said: “I’m 33 now, not getting any younger, It’s hard to try and keep up with these young guys.
“It’s crazy because there was nobody competing at the level I am when I first started training and I’m the only f*cker that’s still hanging around. My teammate Justin Flanagan, he was training at Higher Level before me but he’s not really competing at the level that I’m competing at.
“It’s f*cking hard man, MMA is brutal and that’s why this is probably my last year. I’m gonna go out and f*cking give it everything.
“I’ve been doing it for 14 years, 12 or 13 years as a professional. The amount of sparring and fights [I’ve had], my brain’s ready for a new career.
“So yeah, last push, I’m gonna give this fight everything and take it from there”
Stevie Ray on Aspirations Following PFL Stint
Retirement is often a strange place for MMA fighters, some will try their hand at ‘crossover boxing’, some will head straight into coaching, while some will head into broadcasting.
‘Braveheart’ spoke about multiple things he would like to do after he retires.
He said: “I’ve thought about a few things. Strangely, I ended up applying for the police – I passed everything but I got declined for having a criminal record from when I was younger.
“I’ve got my own gym still, it’s kind of surviving, just. I’ve not been up there a lot the last year and a half because of the PFL tournament.
“I’d like to get into management, after this year I’d like to maybe start with three fighters and look to manage them. With the experience I’ve had, I know what a fighter’s looking for.
“I’ve got personal training that I could do, teach people.
“I would quite like to get into the psychology stuff, changing people’s behaviour, [probably] troubled kids”
Stevie Ray Full Exclusive Interview
You can watch the full interview with Stevie Ray below:
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Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
