Last week it was announced that former UFC flyweight title challenger Ray Borg had been released by the UFC. Borg’s release came after he withdrew from a bantamweight bout with Nate Maness, scheduled for UFC Vegas 5 at the UFC APEX facility.
Sadly, the last minute withdrawal didn’t come as much of a surprise given that Borg has featured in numerous withdrawals and fight cancellations in recent years.
Prior to pulling out of the Maness fight, for undisclosed reasons, Borg withdrew from a fight with Merab Dvalishvili scheduled for UFC Vegas 2 on June 2. Borg pulled out of the Dvalishvili fight due to concerns over the health of his young son, who was born in 2018 and diagnosed with hydrocephalus.
On Friday Borg took to Instagram to tell fans and followers how he was feeling after his UFC release. You can read his full statement, which touches on the health of his son and other family struggles, below.
I guess it’s time to break some silence. 6 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 2 1/2 years my wife and I have gone threw so much, so much that most people couldn’t even understand how we get through the day. From our first born child being at risk everyday for brain surgery, to having to gain custody of a very troubled 8 year old little girl. Unfortunately I have let all these struggles effect me during some of the most important times in my career. 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. I have some physiological shit 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. Just want to thank my team for standing with me threw all this and having my back, also want to thank my manger Ali for always having my back, no matter how hard it has been he has always been there for me. I’ll be back.
Borg leaves the UFC with a 13-5 record. He joined the promotion in 2014 as a replacement opponent for Dustin Ortiz at UFC on FOX 11. Borg lost that promotional debut via split decision. He rebounded soon after, though, defeating Shane Howell by submission two months later.
After the Howell fight Borg had two canceled fights. The first was due to an injury to an opponent (Ryan Benoit). The second was due to an injury to Borg, forcing the cancellation of his fight with Richie Vaculik.
After recovering from that injury Borg won back-to-back contests versus Chris Kelades and Geane Herrera. Borg missed weight for the Herrera fight. He then lost his next fight, to Justin Scoggins, at UFC Fight Night: Hendricks vs. Thompson.
Two fight cancellations followed this loss. A bout with Fredy Serrano at 2016’s UFC 201 was scrapped due to a Borg injury. Then, at UFC 203, illness forced Borg out of a fight with Ian McCall on three days notice.
Borg then fought, and beat, Louis Smolka, despite weighing in at 129.5 lbs. After that he bested Jussier Formiga without incident to set up a flyweight title fight with champion Demetrious Johnson.
Borg was scheduled to meet Johnson at UFC 215 on September 9, 2017. However, that bout was canceled the day before the event after Borg withdrew from the weight cutting process due to illness. Their bout was rescheduled for UFC 216.
In the title fight Borg succumbed to an all-time great submission finish from ‘Mighty Mouse’. In the three years that have followed that fight Borg has had multiple canceled fights and gone 2-2 inside the Octagon (with Borg missing weight in two of those contests.
Among the cancellations were fights with Brandon Moreno that were scrapped because of an eye injury sustained during the infamous Conor McGregor dolly incident and then because of scheduled brain surgeries for his infant son.
Borg’s most recent fight was against Ricky Simon at UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Teixeira inside the UFC’s temporary coronavirus bubble in Jacksonville, Florida. Borg lost that fight by split decision.
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