Cage Warriors 63’s Stevie Ray guns for quick win: ‘You don’t get paid for overtime’

Cage Warriors lightweight champion Stevie Ray has 10 first-round finishes on his record. However, in three of his past four fights, Ray has gone the distance – something that doesn’t sit well with the Scotsman.

“I’ve had a lot of first-round stoppages where I’ve won within the first minute,” Ray told MMAjunkie Radio. “I’ve had a few fights that have gone a lot longer now, and I must say I prefer to just go in there and finish as quick as I can.”

Ray (14-4) will be looking to execute a quick stoppage victory today when he puts his 155-pound belt in the line against Ivan Buchinger (24-4) at Cage Warriors 63. The event goes down from The Helix in Dublin, Ireland, with live main-card action streaming on MMAjunkie at 4 p.m. ET.

While Buchinger is a durable opponent who has only been put away inside the distance twice in nearly 30 professional fights, Ray believes he can find any necessary openings to secure the knockout or submission.

Even though Ray admits he doesn’t know all that much about his Slovakian opponent, he is somewhat familiar with what Buchinger brings to the table and is prepared to counter it.

“I’m not a guy that looks at any fight too much,” Ray said. “Obviously I’ll look at my opponent and see what he’s all about, see what he’s good at, what his weaknesses are. But on fight night, I just go in there and see what happens.”

Ray doesn’t always plan on ending a fight early. What he does plan on, though, is carrying an unshakable belief in himself and his abilities inside the cage. The finishes are a product of that.

While long, drawn-out slobberknockers have their place in MMA, Ray prefers to spend as little time in the cage as possible, because regardless of how he wins, the paycheck at the end of the day remains the same.

“You don’t get paid for overtime in MMA,” Ray said. “It’s better if you’re finishing the guy. I obviously like to put on a show for the fans, but I would like to go finish the fight as well.”

For more on Cage Warriors 63, stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of the site.

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