Coach Ray Longo has called for discussion about mental health in MMA, specifically targeting Jiri Prochazka's unusual training methods and post-fight behavior. Longo mocked Prochazka's claim of showing mercy, saying the fighter simply made a critical mistake. Carlos Ulberg dismissed Prochazka's mercy claim as fabrication, stating it was actually fear that held him back. Ulberg also revealed tension at City Kickboxing gym, noting that he and Israel Adesanya haven't been seen together recently and ignore each other's fight results. Additionally, President Trump told Costa after his victory that he's "too handsome to be a fighter." Ulberg is suspected to have suffered an ACL tear with 9-12 months recovery time pending confirmation this week.
Coach Ray Longo used a recent media appearance to raise questions about mental health culture in MMA, directing pointed criticism at light heavyweight contender Jiri Prochazka over his unconventional training methods and his explanation of a recent fight's outcome.
Prochazka, the 33-year-old Czech Republic native ranked second in the light heavyweight division, carries a 32-6-1 record and is known as one of the sport's most aggressive and unorthodox competitors. He lands 5.69 significant strikes per minute at 55 percent accuracy, and has spoken publicly about meditative and extreme mental conditioning practices. Following a recent performance, Prochazka claimed he chose to show his opponent mercy rather than finishing the fight. Longo rejected that framing outright, arguing the fighter simply made a costly error and dressed it up in philosophical language.
Carlos Ulberg went further, stating the mercy claim was pure fabrication and that what actually stopped Prochazka was fear. Ulberg also disclosed an unusual dynamic inside City Kickboxing, revealing that he and teammate Israel Adesanya have largely avoided one another and neither pays attention to the other's results. Adesanya, now 36 and ranked eighth at middleweight with a 24-6-0 record, has long been the gym's flagship name. The nature of the reported friction between the two was not elaborated upon.
In a separate note from the same news cycle, President Trump told middleweight Paulo Costa following his victory that he was "too handsome to be a fighter." Costa, 35, holds a 16-4-0 record at middleweight and ranks thirteenth in the division, averaging a division-leading 6.26 significant strikes per minute at 58 percent accuracy.
Why it matters
- Longo's comments reignite debate about how fighters frame losses and whether mental health discourse is being misapplied in combat sports
- The Ulberg-Adesanya gym tension raises questions about cohesion at one of MMA's most prominent training camps
- Ulberg is suspected to have suffered an ACL tear, with a recovery window of nine to twelve months pending confirmation, which would significantly affect the light heavyweight picture
