A fast-growing mixed martial arts reputation is making Stevie Ray a recognisable face in Scotland, the UK and well beyond.
But the Kirkcaldy UFC star will be hoping to please a local fan club that will get a rare chance to see him at work in the Octagon later this summer.
UFC Glasgow on Sunday, July 16 will be a homecoming for Ray, whose star rose high with a stunning comeback win against legend of the sport, Joe Lauzon in Nashville recently.
And, asked how many tickets his contest with Paul Felder at the SSE Hydro will shift, Ray answered: “Probably the whole of Fife!
“Even when I was in Cage Warriors I took 300 people for a fight in London.
“For this one you could be looking at around 500.
“In Kirkcaldy I certainly get noticed a lot more these days.
“But it’s not just there. It can be the same in Edinburgh or Glasgow
“And I can be at an airport in places like Brazil or South Africa and somebody will come up to me.
“When I was getting my visa checked in America the guy said, ‘you’re the man who beat Lauzon….great fight’.”
Ray added: “It’s a huge deal to get the chance to fight in my home country again.
“My fight is the one people will be looking forward to.
“To have 13,000 Scots cheering for me will be amazing. It definitely puts more pressure on as well, though.
“Hopefully it will be the same as the last time in Glasgow – two years ago – when I got a knock-out of the night.”
Another Scot on the card is Coatbridge’s Paul Craig. As anybody who followed a social media war of words will know, the pair are not Christmas card exchangers.
“He’s a different weight division so we’ll never fight,” said Ray.
“It’s a bit awkward when we do media things to promote the event.
“I’ll be making sure I put on a better show than him in July. He’s rubbish.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for Felder. There’s been no trash talk before this fight. Maybe I should be training as if I’m fighting Craig.”
Ray’s last win was the biggest of his UFC career and it was also one of the biggest lessons.
By not following orders from his corner, the 27-year-old dug himself a hole that was extremely hard to get out of.
He recalled: “My coach (James Doolan) was telling me to box and not kick. I didn’t listen and threw a kick, he took me down and it should have cost me the fight probably. I even threw a kick again in the third.
“Things definitely weren’t going my way in the first round but when I got through it there were still 10 minutes to get the win.
“Like I say, I’ve learned a lesson and I’ve got another big name on my CV.
“Lightweight is the most stacked division in UFC.
“I’m definitely heading in the right direction but I’m nowhere near finished yet.
“Felder is a tough opponent. He’s fought some of the biggest names around.
“He’ll come to fight and it should be an exciting one for the fans.
“This is the last fight on my UFC contract. Get past him and I can look at negotiating a new deal after that.”
* Tickets for UFC FIGHT NIGHT: Nelson vs. Ponzinibbio are now on sale via Ticketmaster.
