Ray Longo claims Raul Rosas Jr. has a victory over one of his pupils, predicts bright outcome for rising star at UFC 287

MMA coach Ray Longo believes the future is bright for Raul Rosas Jr., after revealing that the bantamweight prospect had previously defeated one of his pupils.

Rosas Jr. is set to kick off the main card of UFC 287 in Miami this weekend as he takes on Christian Rodriguez. The 18-year-old is 7-0 as a professional and seriously impressed during his appearance on Dana White's Contender Series last year.

'El Nino Problema' was then offered a professional contract and broke the record as the youngest-ever UFC fighter when he made his debut at UFC 282. Rosas Jr. faced Jay Perrin in his first outing and wasted no time in impressing the UFC brass once again by submitting his opponent in the first round.

Longo recently appeared on the Anik & Florian Podcast to give a breakdown of the upcoming UFC 287 card. During the show, the coach was asked about Raul Rosas Jr.

Longo feels that the young prospect should get the job done once again this weekend and revealed that Rosas Jr. had previously defeated one of his pupils from the Serra-Longo Fight Team:

"For a young kid, as long as he doesn't buy into the main card stuff already, he's already got the UFC jitters out... I say he wins that fight [against Rodriguez]. I think this kid beat one of my guys a couple of years ago, so I think Rosas Jr. is probably gonna win this fight... What a great spot to be in as a young kid, starting off a pay-per-view card."

Catch Ray Longo's comments here:

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Raul Rosas Jr. responds to critics of his place on UFC 287's main card

Speaking to the media during UFC 287's fight week, Raul Rosas Jr. responded to those who questioned the UFC's decision to have his bout with Christian Rodriguez on the main card.

Rosas Jr. is already being touted as a future world champion, but a host of MMA fans and fighters don't believe he has earned the right to appear on pay-per-view yet.

Responding to his critics, Rosas Jr. boldly stated that they should "take some notes" from him instead of complaining:

“I don’t know who said that, but at the end of the day, they’re all just hating and they should take some notes if they want to be on the pay-per-view card. They should take some notes and learn some stuff from me. I got in the UFC and I’m already on the pay-per-view, not like other ranked fighters that are prelim fighters. I don’t want to say names.”

Catch Raul Rosas Jr.'s comments here (7:47):