Eldridge man works toward shot at Ultimate Fighting Championship

WAYNESVILLE—In the basement of Buckhorn Baptist on weekday mornings, LHS graduate and Eldridge local Ray Hayes trains for another featherweight championship title. The latest challenge to the Mixed Martial Arts fighter comes from Alex Coover, though Hayes and his team would disagree on the word challenge. “I think it’ll be an easy win,” said Colton Carmack, Hayes’s coach. Before “Sweet Baby” Hayes was a professional fighter, he had tried his hands at other sports. His attempts at soccer, football, and wrestling all had a common theme. “I sucked at all the other sports,” Hayes joked. Fighting was the one that stuck. For more on this story, see Wednesday's LCR.