Scottish MMA star Stevie Ray was brutally knocked out in his 2022 PFL lightweight championship fight against Olivier Aubin-Mercier at New York's Hulu Theatre in Madison Square Garden tonight.
The Fife native had to get through former UFC world champion Anthony Pettis twice on route to the finals, including a rematch at the same venue three months prior. And he returned as a considerable underdog against the Canadian, who was flirting with retirement heading into the bout.
A capacity crowd packed out the famed New York City venue as six world champions were crowned, with all winners pocketing $1million for winning the season. Australian Rob Wilkinson picked up the light-heavyweight belt in the pay-per-view's opener, while Muhammad Ali's grandson Biaggio Ali Walsh stole headlines on the undercard with a vicious first round knockout in his PFL debut.
Unfortunately for the Scot, it wasn't to be as his rival survived a second round grappling onslaught and landed a vicious right hook, with the referee immediately stepping in to stop the bout. He became the third millionaire of the night, hitting the second knockout of the pay-per-view card.
The Scot struggled to get inside during the first round, and was unable to spend the necessary amount of time on the ground, but that changed in a major way during the second. He got Aubin-Mercier down early and managed to get to his back, but was unable to land the submission, and was knocked out with seconds to go in the round.
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It appears that the Canadian is back-tracking on his retirement promise, declaring that he wants to bring the PFL to his hometown of Montreal, Quebec. Having picked up the $1m prize, he had teased a move away from the cage, but now seems to be keen on fighting at least once more in his native country.
Dakota Ditcheva got the Brits off to a good start when she knocked out Katherine Corogenes in the opening round of their prelim bout. And there is still a chance that a new UK millionaire is made when Manchester's Brendan Loughnane steps in with Bubba Jenkins for the featherweight gold.
