Roundtable: Should the UFC be looking at Stevie Ray after his win over Curt Warburton

Roundtable: Should the UFC be looking at Stevie Ray after his win over Curt Warburton

Photo: Dolly Clew | Cage Warriors

Since defeating Curt Warburton with an impressive second round submission at Cage Warriors 73 to put to bed the trilogy and settle the score in his favour, Stevie Ray has been doing his best to sell himself to the UFC via Twitter. He certainly feels he is ready to join the biggest promotion in the world, yet the question remains if the UFC will feel he is ready.

We take a look at whether or not the UFC should be looking at Stevie Ray following his win over Curt Warburton, and if the fighter himself is in fact ready for the big stage.

Andreas Georgiou - @AGeorgiouMMA

Stevie Ray is one of the UK's top fighters and he would be an interesting addition to the UFC roster. 

After an impressive win over Curt Warburton, Ray proved himself as Scotland's best lightweight and especially with JoJo emerging from TUF, he is another key to unlocking the Scottish market. 4-1 in his last five he has beaten some of the UK's best in Warburton, Jason Ball and Sean Carter. 

With the already stacked UFC lightweight division, Braveheart would be a stellar signing to bolster the mid-tier European ranks.

Chris Houten - @mrhouts

With an impressive win over Curt Warburton at Cage Warriors 73, Stevie Ray has every right to be pushing for a place on the UFC roster, the UFC have certainly signed worse fighters over the last year.

Personally I would like Ray to defend his title a few more times on the European circuit before he joins the UFC. There are some great fights in the lightweight division that I would like to see Ray fight first. The likes of Joe Duffy, Saul Rogers, Paul Redmond and Mateusz Gamrot if Cage Warriors can bring him back, are the kind of opponents that will push Ray to prove he is UFC ready, unlike recently defeated Warburton who was released after just a few fights.

I wouldn’t argue with the addition of Ray to the UFC roster though, and if JoJo Calderwood were to win TUF 20, I would pretty much count on it.

Alex Dillion - @ADillon__

There's no doubt Stevie Ray is building towards the UFC judging by his recent performances but I would like to see him defend his Cage Warriors title again before moving on. 

The UFC lightweight division is absolutely stacked at the moment and for me Ray needs a few more names on his resume to see if he's really able to match up with some of the UFCs finest. For me, there are some great contenders in the Cage Warriors lightweight division that would give Ray a good fight. Names such as: Joe Duffy, Saul Rogers and Paul Redmond all spring to mind. These three are fighters I see as heading onto the UFC eventually so if Ray can defend his belt against them it will add more fire to his UFC push. 

The timing of another defence, Jojo Calderwood building her name in the UFC and the company looking to head to Scotland in the near future, I'd say it's only a matter of time before Stevie Ray is signed up, but not just yet.

Give us your thoughts on whether or not Stevie Ray should be in line for a shot in the UFC in the comment sections below. Or join the discussion over on our Facebook page.

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