After UFC Fight Night 99 win over Ross Pearson, Stevie Ray wants Diego Sanchez in London

With the biggest win of his career under his belt, Scotland’s Stevie Ray is hoping to add another “TUF” winner to his resume in a few months.

Ray (20-6 MMA, 4-1 UFC) took a split decision from Ross Pearson (19-13 MMA, 11-10 UFC) in the UFC Fight Night 99 co-main event this past Saturday at SSE Arena Belfast in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The entire event streamed on UFC Fight Pass.

The fight was a contentious one, with about as divergent of scores from the three judges as you can get. Two judges scored the fight 30-27 for Ray. A third gave it to Pearson – also at a 30-27 clip.

With the win over the Season 9 lightweight winner of “The Ultimate Fighter” getting him back in the win column after a September loss to Alan Patrick in Brazil, Ray now has set his sights on the Season 1 middleweight winner of the show: Diego Sanchez.

“Hoping to get on this @ufc London card in march!! what’s ur schedule like @DiegoSanchezUFC fancy it??? @seanshelby @danawhite #UFCLondon,” Ray posted on Twitter.

The UFC returns to London for UFC Fight Night 108 at The O2. Broadcast plans have not yet been revealed, but Ray wants to make the short trip from Scotland to be part of the card.

Diego Sanchez

After his win over Pearson, Ray said he believes he won the fight. (Pearson was disappointed enough in the split-decision setback to question just how much more he wants to return.)

“I was obviously a bit depressed after my last fight, but I got straight back in the gym and just started training again,” Ray said in Belfast. “I just knew how important it was to get back in the win column. Ross is a really high-level guy who has been in the UFC for years, so I have a lot of respect for him. I feel like I won the fight.

“I feel like I landed some shots on him that were really hard. Ross is a veteran, but I tried to just listen to my coaches and not get too frustrated, although it was frustrating at times. I like exciting fights. I want to put on a show for the fans. I’ll fight anyone in the UFC. They seem to do a good job of matchmaking me. Anyone they give me I’ll fight.”

But today, he decided he’d like that person to be Sanchez.

Sanchez has alternated wins and losses his past nine fights. Earlier this month in Mexico, he got back in the win column with an upset of former Bellator standout Marcin Held. That got him back on track after a TKO loss to Joe Lauzon at UFC 200 in July – where Lauzon shut him down in 86 seconds.

For more on UFC Fight Night 108, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.