Stevie Ray has set his sights on winning $1million after signing with the Professional Fighters League.
Ray retired from professional competition last year after four years in the UFC, citing an ongoing knee injury and "shady" problems related to his visa.
But just a year after calling it quits the Scotsman signed PFL in preparation to make his promotional debut on their 2022 season.
The promotion partnered with Channel 4 for television broadcast rights on Tuesday and Ray labelled the news as a "huge deal".
"It's cool to be back in the business, it's a huge deal for MMA to get a big TV deal like Channel 4 that's free and accessible for everybody," Ray told Mirror Fighting .
The 31-year-old admitted the $1million prize money, in which PFL hand to six fighters each season, was enough to entice him out of retirement.
"My career has been a bit of rollercoaster, but the million dollars alone was enough for me to want to sign and fight for PFL," he continued.
"My first fight in PFL I'm making more money than I've made on my last UFC fight and I had 11 UFC fights, so it just shows you the standard that's there.
"My last UFC fight I was on close to $40k to show and $40k to win and now I'm getting the same for my first fight in PFL."
Ray went 7-4 competing in the UFC and challenged top lightweights such as Paul Felder and Michael Johnson during that stint.
He planned to fight again after his UFC exit, but made an "emotional" decision to retire after the Covid-19 pandemic hit and his knee injury continued to plague him.
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The Scotsman has competed in a Polaris grappling bout since retiring from fighting, submitting talented grappler Craig Ewars.
And Ray said he will be well compensated in the PFL even if he doesn't clinch the $1million prize.
"I wasn't too sure to start with how it works. When I tell people I have the chance to win a million dollars, they think if I don't win I'm getting nothing," he continued.
"I'm getting back to making good wages per fight, whether it was more than UFC or not. Obviously I'm still going to try and win the whole thing to get the million.
"At least you know you're covered even if you don't win, you're still making good money and it's not all or nothing."
