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The contest with Felder was the last on his second contract with the promotion, which had offered him a slightly improved deal that was declined. Ray and his management believed he was deserving of something better, so the UFC’s vice president of talent relations and matchmaker, Sean Shelby, told him a victory over Felder would secure the terms he was asking for.
It took Felder less than four minutes to render Ray unconscious with a string of vicious elbows and derail what was shaping up to be a career-best year for the Scotsman. Ray knew all too well the margin for error was minuscule, but backed himself to get the job done.
Furthermore, and perhaps a little naively, “Braveheart” assumed his future with the company was secure, no matter how events transpired at SSE Hydro arena.
“The thing is, I never thought it was a massive risk,” Ray said. “I just thought it was a case of me asking for a certain amount of money, then being told I would get it if I won the fight. I really thought that if I lost the fight, I’d get one (contract), but not as good. That was a risk I was willing to take.
“It’s not worked out, but now I’d honestly sign the contract they’d offered me before the Felder fight. I can’t know now what they’ll even offer me. I wasn’t trying to be an arse about the contract, and I was willing to fight for the money I felt I deserved. That’s what I tried to do for my family.”
As is standard practice, Ray was placed on medical suspension due to the nature of the defeat and, with his partner and three young children out of the house for long stretches, he was left to contemplate a wholly uncertain future. The fallout was predictably unsavory.
“I hit that bit of depression, which was probably boredom and not being sure what’s going to happen,” Ray explained. “I’m still unsure about what the future holds, but at least I’ve been back training and keeping my weight down.
“Usually when I’m training, I have a contract and know I’m going to get a fight, even if I don’t have one lined up. But now, I’m in a bit of limbo and don’t have a clue what’s going on, so it can be tough to stay positive and stay in the gym.”
Ray and his representatives at Epoch Management have spoken separately to Shelby, who they said told them he has more pressing priorities to address, but not much else.
And so Ray currently languishes in professional purgatory, where constantly seeing the faces of those he’s charged with providing for makes it easier and easier to question life choices.
“To be honest, I don’t know what I’d do if they didn’t offer me a contract,” Ray said. “I’d be absolutely devastated because I’ve put 10 years of my life into the sport and had to do an awful lot to reach my dreams.
“If I don’t get another contract, I’m not sure what I’d do with my life. There’s obviously Bellator and some other promotions that might offer some stuff, but I never stuck with school long enough to go and get a decent job to the same sort of standard as what I’ve been earning.
“The whole contract situation is just stressful because it’s not like it’s just me that I care for – I provide for three kids and my missus, as well. And it’s obviously not fair to my partner because she wants to know what’s going on with our future.”
There are people who will say Ray is paying the price for a needless act of hubris and that, having been offered a contract with the greatest MMA show on earth, he should have put pen to paper. But there was absolutely no animosity during negotiations, which concluded with Shelby laying down the gauntlet of turning over Felder.
“I didn’t beat Felder,” Ray said, “so I accept that I don’t deserve the contract that I wanted, so they should obviously give me one that’s not as good. I never, ever thought it might be a case where I might not get a contract at all. I do believe it would be really unfair if I didn’t get one, just because I got knocked out by somebody who is doing really well.
“I beat Joe Lauzon and Ross Pearson and feel like I’ve given a lot to the UFC. As I say, it’s just for me but also my family, so I need to know what’s going on. I’m just hoping that the UFC still see what I bring to the table.”
More:
http://mmajunkie.com/2017/09/stevie...ials-tribulations-of-waiting-for-new-ufc-deal
It took Felder less than four minutes to render Ray unconscious with a string of vicious elbows and derail what was shaping up to be a career-best year for the Scotsman. Ray knew all too well the margin for error was minuscule, but backed himself to get the job done.
Furthermore, and perhaps a little naively, “Braveheart” assumed his future with the company was secure, no matter how events transpired at SSE Hydro arena.
“The thing is, I never thought it was a massive risk,” Ray said. “I just thought it was a case of me asking for a certain amount of money, then being told I would get it if I won the fight. I really thought that if I lost the fight, I’d get one (contract), but not as good. That was a risk I was willing to take.
“It’s not worked out, but now I’d honestly sign the contract they’d offered me before the Felder fight. I can’t know now what they’ll even offer me. I wasn’t trying to be an arse about the contract, and I was willing to fight for the money I felt I deserved. That’s what I tried to do for my family.”
As is standard practice, Ray was placed on medical suspension due to the nature of the defeat and, with his partner and three young children out of the house for long stretches, he was left to contemplate a wholly uncertain future. The fallout was predictably unsavory.
“I hit that bit of depression, which was probably boredom and not being sure what’s going to happen,” Ray explained. “I’m still unsure about what the future holds, but at least I’ve been back training and keeping my weight down.
“Usually when I’m training, I have a contract and know I’m going to get a fight, even if I don’t have one lined up. But now, I’m in a bit of limbo and don’t have a clue what’s going on, so it can be tough to stay positive and stay in the gym.”
Ray and his representatives at Epoch Management have spoken separately to Shelby, who they said told them he has more pressing priorities to address, but not much else.
And so Ray currently languishes in professional purgatory, where constantly seeing the faces of those he’s charged with providing for makes it easier and easier to question life choices.
“To be honest, I don’t know what I’d do if they didn’t offer me a contract,” Ray said. “I’d be absolutely devastated because I’ve put 10 years of my life into the sport and had to do an awful lot to reach my dreams.
“If I don’t get another contract, I’m not sure what I’d do with my life. There’s obviously Bellator and some other promotions that might offer some stuff, but I never stuck with school long enough to go and get a decent job to the same sort of standard as what I’ve been earning.
“The whole contract situation is just stressful because it’s not like it’s just me that I care for – I provide for three kids and my missus, as well. And it’s obviously not fair to my partner because she wants to know what’s going on with our future.”
There are people who will say Ray is paying the price for a needless act of hubris and that, having been offered a contract with the greatest MMA show on earth, he should have put pen to paper. But there was absolutely no animosity during negotiations, which concluded with Shelby laying down the gauntlet of turning over Felder.
“I didn’t beat Felder,” Ray said, “so I accept that I don’t deserve the contract that I wanted, so they should obviously give me one that’s not as good. I never, ever thought it might be a case where I might not get a contract at all. I do believe it would be really unfair if I didn’t get one, just because I got knocked out by somebody who is doing really well.
“I beat Joe Lauzon and Ross Pearson and feel like I’ve given a lot to the UFC. As I say, it’s just for me but also my family, so I need to know what’s going on. I’m just hoping that the UFC still see what I bring to the table.”
More:
http://mmajunkie.com/2017/09/stevie...ials-tribulations-of-waiting-for-new-ufc-deal
