Former UFC fighter sets up GoFundMe to arrange £100,000 for daughter's brain surgery, Dana White reaches out to help

Dana White recently donated to a fundraiser on the GoFundMe crowdfunding platform to help former UFC fighter Steven Ray reach his goal of £100,000 to fund his daughter's transformative brain surgery. Ray, who currently competes in the Professional Fighters League (PFL), fought in White's promotion from 2015 to 2019.

The 33-year-old Scottish fighter has been professionally competing in mixed martial arts since June 2010 and has a record of 25-11. 'Braveheart' is also a known jiu-jitsu practitioner and notably won a grappling match against surging UFC lightweight Paddy Pimblett in 2019.

Ray recently revealed some heartbreaking news regarding his seven-year-old daughter. His daughter, Myla, was diagnosed with Cortical Dysplasia Type 2 and requires urgent brain surgery. Her condition is a cerebral developmental malformation that causes drug-resistant epilepsy. 'Braveheart' took to Instagram to share details of a GoFundMe page set up to help the family afford the surgery.

Several known personalities from the MMA world put on their philanthropic hats and donated generously to Steven Ray's crowdfunding efforts. One of the most prominent donations was from UFC president Dana White, who gave £10,000 towards helping Ray reach his goal of £100,000. The PFL donated £15,000, making them the top two donors.

Screenshots from Steven Ray's GoFundMe page

Apart from White, well-known MMA entities such as journalist Ariel Helwani, analyst Laura Sanko, UFC featherweight Shane Burgos and former PFL women's lightweight champion Kayla Harrison were among the top donors.

Screenshots from Steven Ray's GoFundMe page

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Dana White donation: Fans react to former UFC fighter Steven Ray's GoFundMe plea

In light of Steven Ray's devastating news, many fans within the MMA community expressed their concerns and sympathies under a post sharing the former UFC fighter's GoFundMe link.

While many fans praised Dana White for his generosity, there were some who felt the £10,000 was a measly sum for the UFC supremo. Users made their thoughts known in the comments section of @mma_orbit's tweet.

One fan praised Dana White, saying:

"This will be achieved Hopefully, DANA IS A REAL ONE FOR 10k"

Another fan agreed with the sentiment, saying:

"Dana is a real one donating 10k!"

However, one user pointed out how much Dana White is worth and said:

"Dana is worth 500 million, 10K to him is less than 1 cent to us."

One user praised the PFL and pointed out:

"PFL chipped in too, and they’re already at 75k out of the 100 they need, so they’re gonna get it for sure. Nice to see"

One fan defended White against allegations of unfair fighter pay in the UFC, saying:

"Dana donated 10,000 euros, and people still eat up the narrative that he’s effin fighters over"