Stevie Ray reveals he had infection, was hospitalized 1 month before PFL 3 appearance [PHOTOS]

Stevie Ray shared a scary medical moment he suffered ahead of his PFL 3 loss.

Stevie Ray wants to make it clear he isn't making excuses for his PFL 3 loss, but wants fans to know what fighters go through, often in secret, just to fight.

Ray took to Instagram to share several photos of an infection that nearly forced him out of his bout.

"Obviously kept this quiet but this was the most worried/closest I’ve ever been for having to pull out a Fight," he wrote. "I had Cellulitis/MRSA only 3-4 weeks ago Being a warrior/fighter I stayed quiet and worked around it, but I was in & out hospital for 9 days (IV antibiotics for 9 days no training but I still tried to walk a lot & obv diet hard, I was on Antibiotics for 4 weeks! Was even in on my birthday lol, 4 different sets of antibiotics. Flucoxacillan, ceftriaxone, daptomycin and then finally Co-trimoxazole."

LOOK: Stevie Ray's leg is nasty during MRSA infection

On top of his own health issues, the Ray family was dealing with a very serious brain issue with their daughter. This paired with the tournament aspect of the card made the fight a must-do situation.

"MRSA is pretty serious as it’s resistant to a lot of antibiotics. In this ruthless game u don’t get paid if you don’t fight and I have a family to support and provide for A few close people to me knew about this," he wrote. "4 weeks out for my fight for 9 days I walked 10 miles per day and dieted hard while having a bad leg infection just so I can make this fight and like I said to provide for my wife & kids. Lost the fight fair and square and I got out grappled but it’s these things alot of people don’t see."

Ray lost a unanimous decision to Natan Schulte on Friday night in Las Vegas. He'll have another chance to earn points in June when the PFL heads to Atlanta.