Strickland surprises by revealing injury suffered in training with Poatan's team before UFC 328.

Sean Strickland in a post-victory interview at the UFC. Photo: Reproduction/YouTube/UFC

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Sean Strickland overcame more than Khamzat Chimaev to return to the top of the middleweight division (up to 83,9 kg). After beating his rival by split decision in the main event of UFC 328 , held last Saturday (9), in New Jersey (USA), the American stated that he suffered a shoulder injury a few days before the fight, during a training session with Alex Poatan 's team.

In the post-event press conference, the new king of the division said that the problem happened during a sparring session with Johnny Eblen , at the academy of Plínio Cruz, Alex Poatan ’s coach . According to Strickland, the injury occurred after defending a takedown attempt and hitting the area hard, causing a separation in the shoulder joint on Tuesday (5) of the week of the fight.

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"Want to hear something funny? On Tuesday, I was sparring with Johnny Eblen , that son of a bitch, the PFL champion. I was training at Plínio Cruz's gym ( Alex Poatan 's coach ), he went for a takedown on me, I hit some kind of wall and ended up dislocating my shoulder."

"So, I had a grade 1 AC joint separation on Tuesday. I remember lying in bed that night, unable to sleep on my left side, thinking, 'You're such an idiot. A real idiot,'" Strickland revealed.

After the event, the American was still seen in the arena corridors talking to Plínio Cruz about the incident involving the injury he suffered during training.

Sean Strickland said he separated his shoulder while training with Alex Pereira ahead of #UFC328 😳 pic.twitter.com/zOkZeMh5R2

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) May 10, 2026

Strickland claims injury hampered his preparation before the fight.

Strickland at a UFC event. Photo: Courtesy of Facebook/UFC

Known for his intense warm-up routines before entering the octagon, the American admitted that the injury interfered with his backstage preparation before the main fight. Strickland explained that he had to significantly reduce his movement to avoid further aggravating the physical problem.

“Normally I like to do a more intense warm-up before fights, but I didn’t want to overheat and make my shoulder worse. So, the whole time I kept thinking I’d been a complete idiot,” Strickland said at the press conference.

Despite dealing with shoulder pain throughout the week leading up to the event, Strickland managed to endure all five rounds against Chimaev and regained the middleweight title in a very close split decision by the judges.

UFC 328 results

MAIN CARD

Middleweight (up to 83,9 kg): Sean Strickland defeated Khamzat Chimaev by split decision (48-47, 47-48, 48-47) and won the middleweight title.

Flyweight (up to 56,7 kg): Joshua Van defeated Tatsuro Taira by technical knockout (punches) at 1:32 of round 5 and defended his flyweight title.

Heavyweight (up to 120,2 kg): Alexander Volkov defeated Waldo Cortes Acosta by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

Welterweight (up to 77,1 kg): Sean Brady defeated Joaquin Buckley by unanimous decision (30-25, 30-25, 30-27)

Lightweight (up to 70,3 kg): King Green defeated Jeremy Stephens by submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:20 of round 1.

PRELIMINARY CARD

Middleweight (up to 83,9 kg): Ateba Gautier defeated Ozzy Diaz by knockout (punches) at 1:10 of round 2.

Welterweight (up to 77,1 kg): Yaroslav Amosov defeated Joel Alvarez by submission (Katagatame) at 1:13 of round 2.

Lightweight (up to 70,3 kg): Grant Dawson defeated Mateusz Rebecki by submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:48 of round 3.

Lightweight (up to 70,3 kg): Jim Miller defeated Jared Gordon by submission (guillotine choke) at 3:29 of round 1.

Middleweight (up to 83,9 kg): Roman Kopylov defeated Marco Tulio Matuto by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).

Featherweight (up to 65,7 kg): Pat Sabatini defeated William Gomis by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

Middleweight (up to 83,9 kg): Baisangur Susurkaev defeated Djorden Santos by submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:12 of round 3.

Flyweight (up to 56,7 kg): Jose Ochoa defeated Clayton Carpenter by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

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