Ray Borg issues statement following UFC release: ‘This is not a goodbye’

Ray Borg | Esther Lin, MMA Fighting Ray Borg’s run with the UFC is done for now and he admits that the last few years have been a tumultuous time for him both personally and professionally.
News of the former flyweight contender’s release broke last week shortly after Borg withdrew from a bantamweight bout against Nate Maness at UFC Vegas 5. It was the second time in two months that Borg, 27, had stepped away from a scheduled bout. At UFC Vegas 2 in June, Borg withdrew from a fight against, Merab Dvalishvili, later explaining that it was due to concerns over the health of his young son, who was diagnosed with the brain condition hydrocephalus after being born in 2018.
Borg (13-5) has been forced out of several other UFC bouts in the past for various reasons and he has also officially missed weight on four separate occasions. On Friday, he posted a statement on social media addressing the circumstances surrounding his release.
“I guess it’s time to break some silence,” Borg wrote. “Six wild years with the UFC, I have experienced some highs and lows during this time. Sean Shelby, Mick Maynard and Dana White have actually treated me insanely good and have given me so many chances to get my shit together and I failed to do so.
“Over the last two and a half years years my wife and I have gone through so much, so much that most people couldn’t even understand how we get through the day. From our firstborn child being at risk everyday for brain surgery, to having to gain custody of a very troubled eight-year-old little girl. Unfortunately, I have let all these struggles effect me during some of the most important times in my career.”
Borg expressed gratitude to the UFC for his time with the promotion, which saw him ride a 5-2 start (that included two fights where he failed to hit the 125-pound mark) to a title shot against flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson at UFC 216 in October 2017. He was defeated by flying armbar submission in the fifth round of that encounter.
Since then, Borg has fought four times, going 2-2 and most recently dropping a split decision to Ricky Simon at a UFC event in Jacksonville, Fla., on May 13.
In his statement Friday, Borg alluded to “physiological” issues that he needs to work through, though he did not specify exactly what those issues were.
“I am gutted to part ways with the UFC, but I am also grateful for all the cool experiences I have taken part of over the years,” Borg wrote. “I have some physiological sh*t I need to figure out before I know what my next move is, so this is not a goodbye post but rather a temporary pause until I can come back better.”
Read Borg’s full, unedited statement below:

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