All About Chris Weidman and Coach Ray Longo: Gym, Teammates & More on the UFC Veteran

Apart from Madison Square Garden, New York is home to a roster of UFC talent, including current bantamweight Merab Dvalishvili, former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling, veterans Rashan Evans and Matt Serra, and of course the former middleweight champion Chris Weidman . 'The All-American' is most notable for being the first man to ever knock out Anderson Silva in the sport of MMA. Weidman is someone who has truly experienced the thrill and agony of being a UFC fighter, with the highest of the highs in being the champion, and the lowest of the lowest owing to his string of losses, and a freak injury.

Through his rise and fall, Chris Weidman has had one man in his corner consistently, i.e., his head coach Ray Longo, or the Serra-Longo fight camp. The New York fight academy is home to a roster of UFC fighters, who've been alongside 'The All-American' through his challenges. Against all odds, Weidman is currently competing in the UFC's 185-lbs division, where most of his contemporaries have retired into the sunset. With such a captivating story in the fight world, it's important to look at the people Chris Weidman surrounds himself with. Let's take a closer look!

Who is Chris Weidman's coach? Chris 'The All-American' Weidman started wrestling at an early age, winning the 'All-American' wrestling honor twice at Nassau Community College, in Long Beach, New Yorks. After transferring to Hofstra, Weidman's fate intertwined with Ray Longo's – the head coach of Serra Longo, through an individual named Gabriel Toribio, after he invited the NCAA Division-1 wrestler to train at Matt Serra's BJJ academy. Weidman long had aspirations of competing in the Olympics, but that dream never came to fruition. As chance would have it, he would embark on a different journey, in a different sport, realizing gold status through his meeting with Matt Serra and Ray Longo.

Currently, Chris Weidman's Jiu-Jitsu Coach is Matt Serra and John Danaher, while head coach Ray Longo and Mark Henry are his striking coaches. These men have been in Weidman's camps or corners through thick and thin, particularly when he snapped his shin throwing a low leg kick at Uriah Hall at UFC 261. The road to recovery took two years, and he found his way back to the Octagon against Brad Tavares at UFC 292, losing a decision to the Hawaiian.

However, the Baldwin, New York native found success in his next bout at UFC on ESPN 54, albeit in a controversial win. While he finished Bruno Silva in the third round, the fight was ruled a technical decision in favor of Weidman due to an eye poke leading to the finish. Regardless, this was a much needed win for 'The All-American' after his long absence. For his part, Ray Longo stood by his fighter, insisting that he didn't care how the fight ended as long as his fighter won.

Longo said the following on the 'Anik and Florian' podcast , "I don't give a s**t, that's my real gut feeling. I'm happy with what I saw, he's a winner no matter how they scored that fight – that's it you know, if you want to know how I think they should have scored it, I didn't even think about it." He also mentioned how Weidman got poked in the eye as well in the fight – "Weidman got thumbed in the eye [too], there's a picture of it, and because he didn't complain about it – they both eye poked each other. One guy chose handle it one way, and one guy chose to handle it another way."

While Chris Weidman has an incredible roster of coaches at his side as a result of being part of Serra-Longo, his teammates are also noteworthy individuals who represent the New York MMA scene. The steady air of camaraderie between the fighters from the famed Long Island gym is endearing to watch, as these individuals train with, and build each other up to be the best fighters from the East Coast.

Weidman's gym and teammates Chris Weidman trained extensively as a student at Serra-Longo, but eventually also became a coach and business owner in a partnership with Ray Longo. Together, the duo run Longo-Weidman MMA in Garden City, New York. The gym, started in 1990 operated under the banner of 'Ray Longo's International Martial Arts Academy', before being changed to Longo-Weidman MMA. Additionally, Weidman also served as the wrestling coach at his alma mater Hofstra for a brief period.

While the NCAA Division-1 wrestler has trained with incredibly esteemed coaches, the same can be said for the people he trains with. The Serra-Longo Fight Team consists of a laundry list of UFC superstars, such as bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili , former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling, perennial welterweight contender Stephen Thompson, and former lightweight title contender/real-estate agent Al Iaquinta, to name a few.

Interestingly, Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson is not just teammates with Weidman, but also family. The karate phenom's brother Tony Thompson is married to Chris Weidman's sister Colleen Weidman Thompson.