Former UFC flyweight title challenger and bantamweight prospect Ray ‘The Tazmexican Devil’ Borg was released by the UFC recently after he withdrew from his UFC Fight Night 173 bout with Nathan Maness on the day of weigh-ins for undisclosed reasons. (Via BJPenn.com)
Borg has had issues making weight for much of his career, missing the mark four times in the UFC, one even in a bantamweight fight. His bout with Maness was also scheduled at 135 lbs, it’s a wonder why he continues having these issues.
Borg has also pulled out of a serious amount of fights since being signed to the UFC, not only for injuries, but now five times he’s pulled out of a bout citing undisclosed reasons or medical issues.
Many people worried whether he’d make weight for his title fight with Demetrious Johnson back in the fall of 2017, considering he’d missed the flyweight limit twice prior, but he did make it that night.
However, he was supposed to fight Johnson for the title a month prior, but withdrew from the fight the day before weigh-ins citing an illness. He actually has made the flyweight limit six times in his UFC career, but also missed it three times at 125 lbs, and now twice at 135 lbs.
That’s four misses in twelve UFC fights, and what appears to be five misses in an attempted thirteen UFC fights. The UFC was able to schedule Maness a featherweight bout with the undefeated, fellow debuting Johnny Munoz, a fight he won via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-27).
It’s unfortunate to see Borg’s career pan out this way. He’s still only 27-years-old, and he’s always been such a bright young prospect with all the potential in the world. He’s always had an insanely high level ground game, mixing his wrestling and grappling better than just about anyone out there, and his stand up has come along as well.
Though he lost his last fight to Ricky Simon via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28), his boxing looked great in that fight. He even beat a prime Jussier Formiga, something less than a handful of flyweight talents have ever done.
Hopefully he can get his weight cutting issues under control, whether it be a discipline thing, a medical issue, or something else. He belongs in the UFC, but who knows, maybe he’ll end up in another major promotion like Bellator or ONE Championship.
Where would you like to see Ray Borg go from here?