Grassroots New York Coach, Ray Longo, Has Created Some Of the Biggest Upsets in UFC History

Ray Longo is New York, personified.

Ray Longo at a UFC Fight Night event alongside pupil, Aljamain Sterling.Photo byJosh Evanoff / bjpenn.com

From his wise-guy demeanour to his grassroots style of coaching, Ray believes in sticking to the basics. And, in a rapidly growing sport, such as MMA (mixed martial arts), Ray has coached his fighters to create some of the biggest upsets in UFC history.

In 2007, after working his way through an unlikely road to a title shot, Ray's first protege, Matt "The Terror" Serra, shocked the world, knocking out the UFC's golden pony, Georges St. Pierre, in the first round to win the welterweight title. Being undersized for the division, and known primarily as a ju-jitsu fighter, Matt's win over Georges is known to this day as one of the greatest upsets in UFC history.

As Matt celebrated with his signature round-off cartwheel, you can see Ray Longo, standing in the corner seeing it all play out as they had envisioned. The two later went on to coach side-by-side, through their Serra-Longo Fight Team.

Matt Serra after defeating GSP at UFC 69.Photo bymmaweeklystaff/mmaweekly.com

5 years after Matt's upset was rivalled only by the pair's next protege, "The All American" wrestler, Chris Weidman. At the time, Anderson Silva, the current middleweight champion, was riding a 17-fight win streak, 10 of which were title defences -- a record still unbeaten by any other UFC fighter, ever.

Anderson seemed unbeatable at the time. And the world expected Chris to crumble under "The Spider's" elusive striking prowess -- as all of Anderson's opponents did. But, after an impassioned speech in between rounds, where Ray famously told Chris to "punch a hole in his f*cken chest", Chris came out ready to make history.

Chris Weidman making history at UFC 162Photo byEsther Lin/MMAfighting.com

As Ray had instructed, Chris began aiming his punches at Anderson's chest and ultimately knocked him out cold. Thus, making history for the Serra-Longo Fight Team, once again.

And, although Ray's latest protege, Aljaimain "The Funkmaster" Sterling, is yet to shock the world in any one performance, his rise through the UFC ranks has been just as serendipitous.

After 7 years and 14 fights under the UFC banner, Aljamain's story was looking as though it would be defined by untapped potential. Aljamain did eventually earn a title shot, and although he was deemed the winner on the night, it was barred in controversy.

After his opponent kneed him in the head while he was downed, Aljamain became the first UFC champion to win his belt by disqualification.

And, although Aljamain can't be blamed for being fouled, fans lambasted Aljamain online, after a picture arose of him posing with the belt, during an afterparty later that night.

Since then, Aljamain has turned in 2 title defences against legendary opponents, ex-champions TJ Dillashaw and Henry Cejudo -- each with a new wrinkle of controversy.

Aljamain Sterling (right) and Sean O'Malley (left) come face-to-face, at UFC 288Photo byErik Sloan/NYfights.com

Still yet to capture the admiration of UFC fans, Aljaimain Sterling, has another chance to make history, as he faces UFC superstar, "Suga" Sean O'Malley. If he wins, he will become the longest-reigning bantamweight champion in the company's history. And, after his proposed win, he plans to move up a weight class to challenge for the featherweight title -- putting him into a small class of 2-weight world champions.

According to UFC veteran, and MMA icon, Chael Sonnen,

"Aljamain is the most disrespected champion in UFC history."

Aljamain is set to defend his bantamweight belt on August 9th at UFC 292. And we'll see if making history once again can turn upset fans into... well, regular fans.

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