Ray Longo, trainer to Merab Dvalishvili and Aljamain Sterling, criticized Jiri Prochazka's post-fight claim of showing mercy, stating mental health issues in MMA need discussion and that Prochazka simply made a serious mistake. Carlos Ulberg directly contradicted Prochazka's mercy narrative, saying fear prevented Jiri from finishing, not compassion, and that Prochazka's excuse was designed to secure a rematch that won't happen. Ulberg also noted that Prochazka didn't approach him after the fight and suggested everything Jiri does is calculated for public reaction. Additionally, the post mentions potential tension at City Kickboxing gym between Israel Adesanya and Ulberg, and reports that Ulberg may have suffered an ACL tear requiring 9-12 months recovery, though official confirmation is pending this week.
Ray Longo and Carlos Ulberg have both pushed back hard against Jiri Prochazka's claim that he held back out of mercy during their recent fight, with Ulberg going further by suggesting Prochazka fabricated the narrative to secure a rematch.
Longo, the trainer behind Merab Dvalishvili and Aljamain Sterling, acknowledged that mental health conversations in MMA deserve serious attention, but stopped short of extending that grace to Prochazka's specific excuse. In his view, the Czech light heavyweight simply made a serious mistake and dressed it up as something more deliberate.
Ulberg was more direct. The New Zealand contender said fear, not compassion, stopped Prochazka from finishing the fight, and that the mercy story was engineered to manufacture a path back to relevance via a rematch Ulberg has no interest in granting. Ulberg also noted that Prochazka did not approach him after the bout, and suggested that every public move Prochazka makes is calculated for audience reaction rather than genuine feeling.
Prochazka, ranked second in the light heavyweight division at 33 years old, carries a 32-6-1 record and one of the more aggressive output profiles in the division, landing 5.69 significant strikes per minute at 55 percent accuracy. Ulberg, ranked third at 35, holds a 15-1-0 record and actually edges Prochazka in striking volume, averaging 6.54 significant strikes per minute at the same 55 percent accuracy clip.
Why it matters
- A potential rematch between the second- and third-ranked light heavyweights carries genuine title implications, making the public dispute more than just noise.
- Ulberg's flat rejection of a rematch complicates divisional matchmaking at a critical time.
- Reports have emerged that Ulberg may have suffered an ACL tear requiring nine to twelve months of recovery, though official confirmation is expected later this week — an injury of that severity would reshape the division's near-term picture entirely.
- Separate reports of tension between Ulberg and City Kickboxing teammate Israel Adesanya, ranked eighth at middleweight, add another layer of uncertainty around the gym's internal dynamics.
