Sean Strickland Reveals Injury as Khamzat Chimaev Eyes Rematch, New Weight Class After UFC 328

Sean Strickland pulled off one of the biggest upsets in recent UFC history despite suffering a significant shoulder injury in the week leading up to his match against Khamzat Chimaev on Saturday night.

Speaking to reporters after his win at UFC 328, Strickland revealed he suffered an AC joint separation while sparring on Tuesday:

"Funny story. So Tuesday I'm sparring Johnny that motherf--ker, the PFL champ [he is a former champion]. I'm at Plinio Cruz's gym and he f--king shoots on me. I hit this brick a-- wall and I separated my shoulder. So I had a grade one AC joint separation on Tuesday and I remember laying in bed on Tuesday night. I'm sure there's a video of me somewhere slamming my shoulder — get some better pads! I was laying there and I couldn't lay on my right."

Strickland fought through it to beat Chimaev by split decision to win the UFC middleweight title. Chimaev, who was 15-0 in his career entering Saturday night, teased a rematch after the bout.

It's unclear when that rematch might take place because UFC president Dana White revealed during his post-fight presser that Chimaev is interested in moving up to the light-heavyweight division for his next fight.

Chimaev has spent the majority of his career as a middleweight, though he has experience at welterweight and fought two catchweight bouts at 180 pounds. The 205-pound division would be the heaviest division he has ever competed in.

Carlos Ulberg is the current UFC light-heavyweight champion after defeating Jiří Procházka at UFC 327 on April 11.

Strickland's victory marked his second win middleweight title win. He previously defeated Israel Adesanya for the crown at UFC 293 in September 2023, but immediately lost in his first title defense against Dricus du Plessis four months later.

The 35-year-old is now 6-2 in his last eight bouts, with marquee wins over Adesanya, Chimaev, Paulo Costa and Anthony Hernandez.