Former UFC fighter Stevie Ray has been dealing with a difficult situation behind the scenes. Recently, the PFL fighter revealed that his daughter is in need of vital brain surgery.
Taking to his socials, Stevie revealed that his daughter, Myla Natalie Ray was previously diagnosed with Cortical Dysplasia Type 2. As such, the Scotsman has set up a GoFundMe page that explains the situation in detail. Currently, Stevie needs to raise £100,000 in order to get the necessary treatment for his daughter.
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According to Stevie, Myla has been suffering from seizures since mid-2019. Then, in 2020 Myla was diagnosed with Frontal Lobe Epilepsy. Although the family initially felt that Myla would grow out of it, she soon became drug-resistant. Unfortunately, on the October 27 Myla was diagnosed with Cortical Dysplasia type 2.
As such, the only means of preventing Myla from having a ‘cot death’ is via brain surgery to remove the abnormality in the frontal lobe of the brain. Additionally after having been put on a waitlist since last year- Steven and his wife Natalie have decided to go to private medical institutions, and thus, require donations. Thankfully, 2 days on, the couple has almost reached their financial goal.
Who has donated to help Stevie Ray with his daughter’s surgery?
Currently, the total amount donated reads £99,035 out of the required £100,000. As such, the couple is likely very grateful for the support that they have received from the MMA community. Notably, some very renowned names have stepped in to help Stevie Ray and Myla during this difficult time.
Of those names, are Stevie’s ex-employer and UFC President Dana White, who made a sizeable £10,000 donation. Additionally, PFL, Ray’s current promotion also sent in a £15,000 donation. Laura Sanko, Sean O’Connell, Lerone Murphy, Shane Burgos, Paul Craig, Kayla Harrison, and Ariel Helwani are some of the other people in the sport who have made donations as well.
‘Braveheart’ will likely be heading into his fight against Natan Schulte a lot more optimistic with his daughter’s medical bills mostly taken care of. Prior to his move to the PFL, the 33-year-old fighter collected wins over the likes of Ross Pearson, Joe Lauzon, and Michael Johnson during his time with the UFC.
Following his move to the PFL, Stevie also collected back-to-back wins over former UFC lightweight Anthony Pettis. Recently, Stevie missed out on the opportunity to win PFL’s $1 million when he lost to Olivier Aubin-Mercier in November 2022. Now, he will be gearing up for his next shot at a lucrative prize at PFL’s 2023 lightweight tournament.