‘Ruthless’ Joe Ray crosses over from the world of MMA where he holds a professional record of 2-2 and amateur record of 9-3. Ray’s had six title fights back in his amateur days and won half of them, then carried that experience into his professional title fight against Nick Smiley in Conflict MMA where he unfortunately fell short. Ray was discovered at the Roanoke, VA. tryouts. 

It’s always surprising to see a heavyweight with several decisions on his record but if that tells us anything in the case of Joe Ray, it’s that he conserves energy fairly well. That’s not to say he isn’t able to end fights as he has many finishes in both am. and pro. What we see in Ray is a well rounded and calculated fighter rather than a spray-and-pray type striker who needs a round one knockout to find the victory, there are plenty of heavyweights like that in the fight game.  

The Martinsville, VA. based Ray last fought in 2013 and has been somewhat plagued with canceled bouts. He tried to make a return to MMA late in 2023 after a decade away and once again, due to unforeseen circumstances never got to step in and throw those big lunchbox hands. You’d better believe those hands are ready to crack and we have to assume that Ray is returning to the world of fighting for a reason. Joe Ray makes his BKFC debut on the Fight Night Prospects card in Manassas, Virginia and faces fellow BK-debuting Kevin Brooks.