What happened to ex-UFC fighter Stevie Ray 's daughter? Critical diagnosis pushes family to set up GoFundMe

Former UFC fighter Stevie Ray and his wife Natalie, who share four children, were faced with possibly the worst news any parent could hear in October 2022. After a long and arduous battle with epileptic seizures, Myla, their 7-year-old daughter, was diagnosed with a life-threatening form of epilepsy caused by focal cortical dysplasia type II.

Myla, who turns eight next month, suffered a "tonic-clonic" seizure in July 2019 and was diagnosed with frontal lobe epilepsy the following year. While the medication helped bring the 7-year-old back to good health for a while, the seizures began affecting Myla again, forcing doctors to prescribe more drugs that cause domino effects on behavior, moods, and tiredness.

After many tests and rounds at the hospital, the Rays were informed that their daughter had been diagnosed with a cerebral developmental malformation that is causing intractable epileptic seizures.

Due to the drug-resistant nature of this epilepsy, Myla is highly at risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) or "cot death." As a result, she will have to undergo expensive brain surgery that will cost around £100,000.

Stevie Ray and his wife have set up a GoFundMe to help raise funds for their daughter's surgery, with notable donations to the cause coming from UFC boss Dana White, who donated £10,000, whilst the PFL also donated £15,000.

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Stevie Ray opens up about his daughter's battle against life-threatening epilepsy

Stevie Ray and his wife Natalie have been braving the worst that life could throw at them over the past few years.

The 33-year-old Scot, who currently competes in the Professional Fighters League (PFL), recently revealed that his little daughter's health took a turn for the worse just before his last fight and described the challenges she faces on a daily basis.

In a recent interview with Mirror Fighting, Stevie Ray opened up about the surgery his 7-year-old daughter has to undergo and stated:

"Her health really deteriorated before my last fight. We got the bad news that Myla has something wrong with her brain... Doctors have said she needs surgery or she's at a high chance of dying in her sleep."

Ray continued to outline his daughter's daily struggles against her epilepsy:

"Myla is medicine intolerant, so the medicine will never solve her epilepsy... She's in a wheelchair now, it's tough. The thing is, she can be running about completely normal, next thing she's had a seizure and then she can't walk."

Stevie Ray will make his second run at the PFL lightweight title this year for the promotion's famed $1 million prize after losing to Olivier Aubin-Mercier in last year's final.