Long out to prove himself against Ray in PFL Glasgow

"I did say at 35 I’d retire, I promised my family that but that might have been a little bit of a white lie if I’m honest, I'm still having fun."

In the back end of his fighting career, Welshman Lewis Long has a new lease of life as he prepares to headline PFL's Glasgow show on Saturday, 28 September.

'Foot' Long will face off in a welterweight bout against Scotland's Stevie Ray.

A UFC veteran, with 38 professional bouts to his name, Ray will provide stiff competition for Long, who comes into the fight as the self-confessed "underdog".

Long, however, is keen to dispel that tag.

"I’m fully aware of the task I’m undertaking, I feel I’m the underdog and not put in this with a chance really," he said.

"When I was speaking to PFL they were like, 'Thanks for stepping in'.

"What do you mean stepping in? I'm going to win."

Long boasts a professional record of 19 wins (including 12 by submission) and seven losses.

Despite a long spell outside of the cage, Long insists there will be no ring rust as he waited for "the right opportunity".

"I never look past my opponent, I’ve been inactive because I wanted good opportunities," he said.

"You can say you want them but you’ve got to get them. I know my worth, want decent pay etc, waited out, had a few other offers.

"If you look at the level and calibre, headlining a show such as PFL who have now bought out nearly all the competition and millions of eyes on, no pressure like, it's really sound.

"I was on holiday when they rang me, I was ecstatic.

"My partner said, 'Oh, is it a hard fight?' Yeah! She was like, 'Oh no!'

"Yeah, I want it. You should have seen the look on her face."

Lewis Long (left) was defeated by Oliver Enkamp in their welterweight bout at Bellator 240 in the 3 Arena, Dublin in February 2020

Long is not underestimating his opponent but insists there is no animosity between the two.

"Me and Stevie are both quite long in the tooth and it’s going to be fan favourites having a fight, so I don’t think anyone will particularly be hating on me or Stevie really," Long said.

"I think he’s a top bloke really, great fighter and looking forward to winning and testing my abilities.

"He’s got incredibly good grappling, he’s good at everything of course being at that level, he’s beat names like [former UFC lightweight champion] Anthony Pettis.

"Everyone thinks bad blood, but we have been in this game for a long time so there’s none of that.

"I’ve been speaking to him online, messaging each other.

"The thing is people want to hype a fight, get on social media to be arguing and stuff like that, but we’re through-and-through fighters and martial artists, there’s no disrespect there.

"We’re not going to be at each other's throats, it’s not great for publicity but we’re people who want to do it in the cage and show our abilities there rather than how many insults you can give him online."

The event marks the first time PFL have put a show on in Scotland, as the OVO Hydro hosts the semi-finals of the PFL Europe $100,000 [£75,000] tournaments.

Paris and Newcastle hosted the first two nights of competition while Lyon will host the finals in December.

Long says he has already confirmed his involvement in next year's tournament.

"I’ve been given a handshake to another fight this year and signed a contract for the European tournament next year, so hopefully you’ll be seeing a lot more of me," he said.

Sixteen years on from his first professional bout, the hunger remains.

"At 35 I’m almost in the nursing home, but I’ve kept myself fit for my students, training alongside them every day," he said.

"I do yoga and my passion for the sport won’t ever diminish with age, there's always something to learn.

"Stevie is only a year younger than me. I didn’t know he’d retired twice but he can retire for a third time now if he wants.

"I’ve never wanted to say I’ll retire, I’ve thought about it of course but I’m sure I’m still going to be going for the next few years."

Gone are the days of working nightclub doors until the early hours, whilst studying forensic science at university and juggling training, but Long has never forgotten what he got into the fight game for.

"When I started, I still remember crying going into the dojo as a kid, my mum took me there kicking and screaming and my friend talked me into going," Long said.

"Once I realised that I could have that physical battle with someone, I never looked back.

"You never get into this for the money, you get into it for the love, but it’s something that I really enjoy.

"It’s always been something I’ve wanted to do and build my life around it.

"When I was a young teenager, I used to hold pillows in the house for my other friends as kick-pads, so it’s always been a vocation for me, and I’ve never looked at doing anything else.

"Everyone has always spoken about titles, and I’ve never looked at fighting like that.

"I’ve always looked at it as my next opponent, I’ve never cared about titles, I just keep fighting, hopefully keep winning.

"That leads to belts and titles but it’s never been an objective of mine; it is to get those accolades, but I’ve always just enjoyed the process of fighting opponents and wanting to fight better.

"Every day I wake up thinking I’m going to be better than I was the day before and I think that’s the real gift of the sport."