UFC Belfast: Stevie Ray Replaces James Krause Against Ross Pearson

The dreaded injury bug may be trying to ruin the UFC’s return to Belfast but Stevie Ray has other ideas.

The upcoming UFC Fight Night 99 card in Belfast, Ireland suffered a blow when James Krause had to withdraw from his highly anticipated fight against Ross Pearson but thanks to a very exciting Scottish prospect Pearson remains on the card.

The promotion immediately started looking for an opponent and as a result Scotland’s very own Stevie Ray answered the call and is expected to replace Krause.

MMAFighting.com was the first to report the news of the replacement.

Krause (23-7) has not been in action since a February decision victory over Shane Campbell in Pittsburgh. The 30-year old was then booked to face Pearson at the finale of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ 23 but an injury forced him out of that fight as well.

Ray (19-6) had a five-fight winning streak snapped at the hands of Alan Patrick last month. Patrick defeated the Scotsman via unanimous decision in Brazil. Prior to the loss the former Cage Warriors lightweight champion won his first three octagon appearances against Marcin Bandel, Leonardo Mafra and Mickael Lebout.

Ray held both the BAMMA lightweight title and the Cage Warriors lightweight title (not at the same time) during his run in the UK MMA scene leading to him being a great and exciting pick up by the UFC in 2015. With three consecutive wins under his belt prior to his first loss big things are still expected from the Scot.

The return to Belfast for the UFC has hit some speed bumps but thanks to quick action from both promotional officials and fighters the card is still solid. A rematch between Uriah Hall and Gegard Mousasi will headline the event after Gunnar Nelson had to pull out of his fight with Dong Hyun Kim due to injury.