‘Braveheart vs The Irish Dragon’ Stevie Ray – UFC Glasgow Interview

Stevie “Braveheart” Ray (21-6) steps into the Octagon for his 7th fight in the UFC and his 2nd in Glasgow on Sunday night. He’s up against the extremely tough Paul “The Irish Dragon” Felder.

We talked to Stevie prior to his fight in the middle of his camp.

Ray’s last fight was a great come from behind win over UFC legend Joe Lauzon where he showed how much heart “Braveheart” really has. Ray obviously had a rough time early in the fight against Lauzon but managed to fight through the punishment in the first round and win a decision.

After a fight like that, time off is needed but with UFC Glasgow looming, Ray only had a short amount of “downtime” before he had to get back to work.

“I had my downtime where I just chilled for a week after the fight and healed up. I went on holiday and just ate! I chilled out and when I got back it was pretty much back to work when I got back. Back to training and back to improving.”

This is the second time Ray has fought for the UFC in Glasgow and he isn’t going to let the expectation or nerves get the better of him.

“It feels like something else. I fought at the first one and it was the highlight of my career. All the Scottish fighters won and I got the bonus, I got the knockout, fans went crazy, it was something else!”

“The nerves are always there I wouldn’t say I get any more nervous depending on where it is but maybe it is more nervous in Scotland as there are more people depending on you. It’s how you deal with those nerves that matter. You can let them drain you or you can use them to feed the fire. I feel I’m able to use the nerves to fuel the fire and my results show this.”

The fans are expecting a stand up war but Ray is preparing for anything.

“It depends how much any fighter is looking for the win! If he believes that taking me down is the only way for him to win then I’m sure he wouldn’t look to strike, that being said there are fighters out there that will take a loss to put on a good show. I feel like I able to perform everywhere so wherever the fight goes I’m prepared.”

Ray has previously trained at Tristar gym in Canada but after training in Scotland at Higher Level for his fight against Lauzon Ray decided to stay with what works.

“I’ve been to Tristar before but the last few fights I have been training solely in Scotland. It’s worked well, my coach James Dolan has put a lot of time in with me. He’s a great coach and was a fighter as well so he knows the game well.”

When asked about his training camp Ray was clear that his entire career training was his camp and that every moment in his 7 years of training have led to this next fight against Felder.

“This fight camp has been pretty much 7 years. Every fight is the most important fight of your life so how long have I been training for this next fight? 7 years! Training Is normally at its peak 4-6 weeks before the fight and then I start to gradually tone it down so I don’t over train.”

Ray fought and beat two legends of the sport in Pearson and Lauzon back to back. He wasn’t going to allow the pressure of fighting those big names get to him.

“I was the favourite in both those fights but to the UFC I think I was the underdog. So That’s how I saw myself. It’s always more nervous to fight a nobody because if you lose then you got beat by a nobody but if I lost to Pearson or Lauzon then I lost to a legend.”

Although he is once again fighting in front of a home crowd Ray is a master of his own nerves and believes it will bring it out the best in him.

“Fighting in front of the home crowd is more nerve wracking than fighting guys like Pearson or Lauzon but I feel like I’m equipped to deal with these nerves like I said before. I feel that when I have been at my most nervous is when I have performed my best like when I fought in Scotland before.”

“I think that is someone said they don’t feel any nerves before a fight then they’re full of shit! I think at if you’re not nervous then you either don’t want it bad enough or you are too confident.”

It’s clear that Ray is not underestimating Felder and is hungrier than ever for that win.

Ray is fighting Felder on the main card at UFC Fight Night Glasgow at the SSE Hydro. The fight can be watched live on BT Sports or UFC Fight Pass July 16th.