Ray started as an amateur, going 7–0, his first fight was a short notice fight, at Middleweight, for which he weighted in 175 lbs. His next fights were at Welterweight. Ray made his professional mixed martial arts debut in June 2010. Ray competed predominantly in the United Kingdom where he amassed a record of 16–5 before joining the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He also won a pro muay thai fight against Scott Morrison, class B rules, super middleweight division, by unanimous decision on 12 May 2012.
Brazilian jiu jitsu
Stevie Ray has also competed in brazilian jiu jitsu, in 2011 he won the Scotia Cup 2011, in the middleweight division at white belt and the Glasgow Open 2011, in the medium-heavyweight division at white belt. In 2012 he won Scotia Cup 2012, in the medium-heavyweight division at blue belt and the Glasgow Open 2012, in the middleweight division at blue belt. In 2013 he placed 3rd in the Glasgow No Gi Open 2013, in the middleweight advanced division. Stevie fought Ellis Younger in a no gi grappling match, at 176 lbs / 80 kg, on the 25th of August 2018, in an event called Scottish Grappling Invitational 2. He lost the match on points. On April 20th 2019, Ray competed in the Edinburgh Open 2019, he took 1st place in the Middleweight Gi - purple belt division and also took 1st place in the Middleweight No Gi - purple belt division. Stevie made his return to the grappling scene at on August 19th 2019 at Polaris 11, taking on former Cage Warriors champion Paddy Pimblett in a - 77kg nogi bout, winning the match by inside heel hook.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Ray made his promotional debut as a short notice replacement for an injured Jason Saggo against Marcin Bandel on 11 April 2015 at UFC Fight Night 64. Ray won the one-sided fight via TKO in the second round. Ray faced Leonardo Mafra on 18 July 2015 at UFC Fight Night 72. He won the fight via TKO in the first round and earned a Performance of the Night bonus. Ray faced Mickael Lebout on 24 October 2015 at UFC Fight Night 76. He won the bout by unanimous decision. Ray was expected to face Jake Matthews on 8 July 2016 at. However, Ray pulled out of the fight in early June due to visa issues and was replaced by Kevin Lee. Ray next faced Alan Patrick on 24 September 2016 at UFC Fight Night 95. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Ray faced Ross Pearson on 19 November 2016 at UFC Fight Night 99. He won the fight via split decision. Ray next faced Joe Lauzon on 22 April 2017 at UFC Fight Night 108. After taking a beating and coming close to being finished by Lauzon in the first round, Ray came back strong in the second and third rounds when Lauzon started to fade because of the energy he used in the first round. After a close fight, Ray was awarded a majority decision victory. Ray faced Paul Felder on 16 July 2017 at UFC Fight Night 113. He lost the fight by knockout in the first round after being dropped with a knee strike and subsequently finished off with a series of elbows, marking the first time he's been finished by strikes in his MMA career. The fight with Felder also marked the last fight of his prevailing contract with UFC. As the first bout of his new four-fight contract, Ray faced Kajan Johnson on 17 March 2018 at UFC Fight Night 127. He lost the fight via split decision. Ray faced Jessin Ayari on 27 October 2018 at UFC Fight Night 138 He won the fight by controversial unanimous decision. Ray faced Leonardo Santos on 1 June 2019 at. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round. Ray faced Michael Johnson at UFC on ESPN+ 20 on 26 October 2019. He won the fight via majority decision. Ray was expected to face Marc Diakiese on 21 March 2020 at. However, Ray was removed from the card in late-January for undisclosed reasons. Diakiese is expected to remain on the card against promotional newcomer Jai Herbert However, due to COVID-19 pandemic, the event was cancelled.
