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Stevie Ray says he almost finished Joe Lauzon at UFC Fight Night 108 and wishes he had

Stevie Ray was told by his corner he was likely down 10-8 to Joe Lauzon after a hellacious first round, but there was simply no quit in the 27-year-old Scotsman.

Ray responded with a much-improved second round, and when the bell rang, his corner told him he’d probably won the round. But the likely 10-8 first for Lauzon — which it was, according to two judges — loomed, and Ray’s corner would not let him forget it.

So the plan for Round 3 was simple: no kicks, just throw hands.

Ray heeded the advice, and it was enough for a huge win over Lauzon via majority decision at last Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 108.

“That was one of those fights that just brought it,” Ray told MMAjunkie Radio. “I felt like I had to put (on a show) for the fans. What would’ve made it more exciting is if he was actually throwing back (in the third round). But he was just kind of covering up and taking it.”

The biggest win of Ray’s career was not without controversy thanks to some questionable scoring. While Lauzon earned 10-8 scores from two judges in Round 1, it was the third judge who scored it 10-9, but then awarded Ray a 10-8 final round.

Important as the win was, Ray’s only regret is that he didn’t finish off Lauzon, which would’ve silenced any debate about the outcome.

“To be honest, I didn’t realize how tired he was until I started putting it on him,” Ray said. “And then I’m like, ‘He is really gassed.’ And I felt like I could go another few rounds. But, yeah, even watching it back I should’ve knocked him out and packed in more shots. … I think if there was a little bit longer, the referee totally would’ve stopped it.”

Watch the video above to hear more from Ray.

And for complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 108, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

[sigallery id=”eGtT79ae7CtRCn2Qptsf6P” title=”Ray def. Lauzon” type=”sigallery”]

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