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

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

PUBLICITY:

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

In the post-event press conference, the new king of the division recounted that the problem occurred during a sparring session with... Johnny Eblen, at the academy of Plínio Cruz, coach of Alex PoatánAccording 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 EblenThat son of a bitch, PFL champion. I was training at Plínio Cruz's gym (coach of...) Alex PoatánHe fell on top of 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

Average weight (up to 83,9 kg): Sean Strickland derrotou Khamzat Shimaev by split decision of the judges (48-47, 47-48, 48-47) and won the middleweight belt

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

Heavy weight (up to 120,2 kg): Alexander Volkov derrotou Waldo Cortes Acosta by unanimous decision of the judges (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

Welterweight (up to 77,1 kg): Sean brady derrotou Joaquin buckley by unanimous decision of the judges (30-25, 30-25, 30-27)

Light weight (up to 70,3 kg): King Green derrotou Jeremy Stephens via submission (rear naked choke) at 4min20s of R1

PRELIMINARY CARD

Middleweight (up to 83,9 kg): Ateba Gautier defeated Ozzy Diaz by knockout (punches) at 1:10 of R2

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

Light weight (up to 70,3 kg): Grant dawson derrotou Mateusz Rebecki via submission (rear naked choke) at 4min48s of R3

Light weight (up to 70,3 kg): Jim Miller derrotou Jared gordon via submission (guillotine) at 3min29s of R1

Average weight (up to 83,9 kg): Roman Kopylov derrotou Marcus Tullius Learn by unanimous decision of the judges (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Featherweight (up to 65,7 kg): pat sabatini derrotou William Gomis by unanimous decision of the judges (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

Middleweight (up to 83,9 kg): Baisangur Susurkaev defeated Djorden Santos via submission (rear naked choke) at 4min12s of R3

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