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Dana White and the MMA community have rallied around PFL contender Stevie Ray as he looks to help pay for his daughter's brain surgery with a fundraising campaign.

Ray, a former UFC fighter, set up the fundraiser alongside wife Natalie in a bid to help pay for brain surgery for daughter Myla, who has been diagnosed with Frontal Lobe Epilepsy, as well as Cortical dysplasia type 2.

With that meaning Myla is becoming drug intolerant, private surgery would remove part of her brain near the frontal lobe, with the seven-year old currently at risk of passing away in her sleep.

READ MORE Stevie Ray submitted Paddy Pimblett before fighting for $1m in PFL

Of the 1600 donors to reach the GoFundMe page in a matter of hours, more than £80,000 of the £100,000 target has been raised as of Thursday morning (March 30).

With White adding a £10,000 donation, the PFL donated a massive £15,000 with Ray's fellow Scottish fighters Paul Craig and Chris Duncan also donating.

Other MMA fighters and media members to donate include Ariel Helwani, Laura Sanko, Shane Burgos and Kayla Harrison with the fighting community rallying in support.

Back in November, Ray made it to the final of the 2022 PFL Lightweight Tournament but missed out on a $1million (£810,000) payday in a defeat to Canada's Olivier Aubin-Mercier.

The 33-year-old will return to the 2023 tournament on April 14 as he takes on Natan Schulte, having beaten former UFC champion Anthony Pettis twice on his route to the final last year.

Speaking to The Mirror, Ray said that day-to-day life has been increasingly difficult for the second youngest of his four children, explaining what surgery would entail.

He said: "They will remove part of her brain in the surgery, from seeing it on the MRI it looked like the size of a golf ball.

"Obviously that comes with potential consequences, I think doctors said there's a three per cent chance she can die during the surgery and a seven per cent chance she can become paralysed, because they are operating close to the frontal lobe. It's a lot to take in."

You can help raise money for Myla's brain surgery by donating to the fundraiser here

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• Dana White
• UFC
• MMA

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