He had to marinate for a few months, but Stevie Ray got what he wanted.
After flirting with free agency, the Scot will return to the Octagon to face fellow lightweight Kajan Johnson in an injured Rustam Khabilov's stead at UFC Fight Night 127 on March 17 at the O2 Arena in London. Johnson first announced Ray had agreed to step up on Twitter, with sources confirming the development to MMA Fighting's Peter Carroll on Wednesday.
Ray opted to gamble on himself instead of re-upping with the promotion prior to his July date with Paul Felder at UFC Fight Night 113 in his native Scotland, but suffered a first-round KO that left him without a home for several months. The 27-year-old saw his relentless campaign for another shot go unanswered and even entertained retirement before getting the call to fill in for Khabilov. He returns to the Octagon with a UFC record of 5-2.
Johnson has won three straight since dropping his promotional debut to Tae Hyun Bang by third-round KO at UFC 174, and most recently treated Adriano Martins to an identical fate in a return from a two-year layoff at UFC 215 this past September.
Heavyweights Fabricio Werdum and Alexander Volkov will clash in the London bill's main event.
