Stevie Ray pulled off the biggest win of his career at 2022 PFL 5 when he forced Anthony Pettis to tap out to an incredible submission.
After Pettis (25-13) looked super slick in the early fight, Ray (24-10) turned the tables in the second round and pulled off a Submission of the Year candidate in what was ruled as a modified body lock.
STEVIE RAY GETS THE TAP!!!!
RAY IS GOING TO THE #PFLPLAYOFFS!!#2022PFL5 LIVE on ESPN & ESPN+
🌎 https://t.co/jPNvomkWj8 pic.twitter.com/AIwfNlWFtS— PFL (@PFLMMA) June 25, 2022
2022 PFL 5 took place at Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta. The lightweight regular season bout was the co-main event of the card.
Pettis opened the fight with an axe kick and a flying knee in the opening sequences of the fight. He looked slick with his strikes in the opening minutes, and fended off Ray’s takedown and clinch attempts. Ray started to find more success as the round wore on, but Pettis stayed dynamic, nearly landing a late tornado kick.
The confidence of Pettis showed in the early moments of the second round. He landed a nice question mark kick and started to significantly up his landing rate as he picked the advancing Ray apart with kicks and slick punches. Ray countered with a big moment, though, because he reversed a Pettis takedown and took the back to land some hard punches before working for a choke. Pettis nearly scrambled free, but that’s when Ray locked in a very unusual body triangle from an awkward angle and twisted the torso of his opponent for the stunning finish at the 2:57 mark of Round 2.
With the win, Ray secured the No. 4 seed in the lightweight bracket. Pettis remains No. 1 despite the loss, and now the pair will have an immediate rematch in the opening round of the playoffs.
Check out the complete 155-pound bracket below.
