‘Idiot’ Sean Strickland suffered a seperated shoulder during UFC 328 fight week

NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - MAY 09: Sean Strickland reacts after a split-decision victory against Khamzat Chimaev of Russia in the UFC middleweight championship fight during the UFC 328 event at Prudential Center on May 09, 2026 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

Turns out Sean Strickland reclaimed the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight title while dealing with more than just Khamzat Chimaev.

After defeating Chimaev via split decision in the UFC 328 main event last night (Sat., May 9, 2026) inside Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, Strickland revealed during the post-fight press conference that he suffered a shoulder injury earlier in fight week.

“You wanna hear something funny?” Strickland asked reporters. “So on Tuesday, I’m sparring Johnny Eblen — that motherf—ker, PFL champ. And I’m at Plinio Cruz’s gym [Alex Pereira’s coach], and he shoots on me, and I hit this brick wall and I separated my shoulder.”

“So I had a Grade 1 AC joint separation on Tuesday,” Strickland continued. “I remember lying in bed on Tuesday night, and I can’t lay on my left side, and I’m like, ‘You’re such a f—king idiot. You are such a f—king idiot.’”

The newly crowned champion admitted the injury even changed how he prepared backstage before the fight.

“So in the back I usually like to get better warmups, but I didn’t want to warm up and throw my shoulder out, so the entire time I was thinking I’m such a f—king moron.”