Ray Borg har haft haft det mycket tufft i livet utanför MMA de senaste månaderna. I mars kom sonen Anthony Borg till världen 3 veckor för tidigt, varpå han fick diagnosen hydrocephalus (vattenskalle) och fick genomgå en hjärnoperation. Han är nu på bättringsvägen.
Ray var även inbokad för ett möte med Brandon Moreno under UFC 223 i Brooklyn, där Conor McGregor attackerade en buss där han och flertal andra fighters satt på ifrån Barkeley Center. Det slutade med att Borg blev skadad i ögat av glassplitter från ett krossat fönster och fick därmed inte gå sin match.
Trots detta känner Borg inte någon ilska eller hat mot den irländske fightern och berättar att han är glad att McGregor har ett friskt barn.
Via ’MMAFighting’:
After having a kid and watching him go through what he had to go through, I learned that there’s not a whole lot of room for hate. Everything that happened with me and Conor, I don’t hate the dude no more. I have a certain feeling toward people who have healthy kids. I value that, so it actually makes me really happy that Conor has his boy and shows him off on social media. What we went through, I wouldn’t wish it on anybody, so it’s nice to see people enjoy their kids.
Den unge MMA-utövaren Borg hade inte lika tufft som hans egna son, men fick i sin barndom flytta mycket fram och tillbaka mellan sina skilda föräldrar. Han fann sedan intresse för kampsport i kickboxning och senare MMA, där hans första tränare var fightern Abel Cullum från organisationen DREAM.
Borg hjälpte även till att uppfostra sin yngre bror, Jonathan Borg.
People probably thought I was a little weirdo or a crack-baby kid. I would walk around Albuquerque and for example, one time I received an MP3 player, and I’d go around and ask people if they wanted to buy it, so I’d have money to take them to the movies or dinner. Growing up was about learning to survive.
I knew what I was doing wasn’t good at all, and I didn’t want him doing the things I was doing, so I started to learn to be on my toes with him. I’ve seen kids follow their older siblings into things like that and end up in hardcore s**t or even die. I wanted to make sure my brother never followed a bad path, and that’s why I moved him in with me.
Nu hoppas Borg på att komma tillbaka för en match i september, där han skulle vilja möta Sergio Pettis. Han berättar även om sitt möte med flugviktsmästaren Demetrious Johnson, som han menar är den starkaste fightern han har mött.
My weight’s good, I’ve been taking care of my body, I’m good to go. I’m ready to get back in training, feel it out, and let these hands fly.
I learned that my wrestling is good but not as good as what it needs to beat DJ. He stuffed a lot of my takedowns and out-scrambled me in a lot of positions. I’m one of the best in the world for a reason. I’m ranked No. 4, but there’s so much more room for improvement than what I could have imagined. Skill-level wise, there’s a bunch of stuff that happened in the fight that we take in and improve on. As far as my hands go, my wrestling, jiu-jitsu. A lot of technical improvements and psychological ones, too.
DJ is by far the strongest guy I’ve ever fought. But I think when he fought me he was at the top of his peak. He might have one more fight at the top of his s**t. But even if he beats Cejudo, it’s going to be a lot rougher fight for him, and I think as soon as he has that rough fight, we’re going to see the time ticking on when he’s really out the door.
Borg mötte Johnson under UFC 216 i oktober förra året där han förlorade via submission i femte ronden. Han har nu ett record på 11-3.
