Kirkcaldy's Steven Ray gracious in defeat after being knocked out at UFC Stockholm

Ray was knocked out cold by a devastating counter-punch after 2 minutes 17 seconds of the lightweight fight against Brazilian Leonardo Santos on Saturday.

His 39-year-old opponent had not lost in more than a decade, but had been out of action since October 2016 due to injuries and cancelled bouts.

Ray himself was making a comeback from keyhole knee surgery but speaking to the Press, he remained gracious in defeat, admitting that he had no excuses.

"It's just part of the fight game," he said.

"My training was good, my confidence was up and I was in the shape of my life.

"I felt strong, fast - everything - and my knees felt better too.

"But even if I feel at my best, sometimes that's not good enough.

"On this occasion I just got caught and it can happen to anyone.

"It was pretty early, so I never really got a chance to get into the fight.

"I committed with a double-jab cross to the body and he's just stepped back and countered with the right hand.

"I remember at the time thinking 'what's going on?' But watching it back I know I was knocked out for a second or two.

"I fought a guy on an 11-fight win streak we always knew it was going to be a tough fight.

"He's beat guys in the top 10 like Kevin Lee who fought for the title recently.

"He's a top 15 guy, he's just not in the ranking because he hadn't fought in nearly three years.

"I'll be back so don't think this will keep me down. I know this can happen in the fight game."

On a positive note the fight was Ray's 10th in the UFC - the first Scottish fighter to reach the milestone - a fantastic achievement for the former St Andrews High School pupil.

His also retains a winning record in the UFC - which now stands at six wins and four losses - and with one more fight to come under his current contract, possibly at UFC Copenhagen in September, Ray accepts it will be one he needs to win.

"If I don't it might cost me my job with the UFC," he admitted.

"The good thing is I have no injuries at all so I don't have to take time off or go for any surgeries.

"I just can't spar for a wee while because I got knocked out, but I can get back to training right away.

"That means I can stay in shape so for my next fight camp I can look at getting in even better shape again, and getting back to winning ways."

Ray is now looking forward to a family holiday to Turkey with his partner Natalia and their three children Lyle, Millie and Myla.

Then he will return to his Braveheart MMA gym in Kirkcaldy where he will soon be starting up another MMA class for beginners.

For all the details visit the gym's Facebook page here.