Joe Rogan Issues Lavish Praise to Sean Strickland for Fighting Through Busted Shoulder at UFC 328

Joe Rogan has heaped a ton of praise on UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland for fighting through a shoulder injury at UFC 328.

Joe Rogan Issues Lavish Praise to Sean Strickland for Fighting Through Busted Shoulder at UFC 328

Joe Rogan praises Sean Strickland for fighting through an injury [via MMA Mania]

In Short
  • Joe Rogan praised Sean Strickland for winning the middleweight championship at UFC 328 despite fighting with a separated shoulder.
  • Strickland handed Khamzat Chimaev his first-ever MMA loss in a closely contested match.
  • The injury could require 6-12 months for recovery, sidelining Strickland from future fights.

Joe Rogan recently expressed his admiration for Sean Strickland fighting through a serious shoulder injury at UFC 328. Strickland beat Khamzat Chimaev last Saturday in a close fight for the middleweight championship. The American ended up handing Chimaev his first-ever MMA loss at UFC 328.

‘Tarzan’ also became only the second fighter ever to capture middleweight title twice after losing it. But most impressively, he did all this with a separated shoulder. Veteran commentator Joe Rogan has lauded Sean Strickland’s toughness and resilience in not only choosing to fight with a separated shoulder but also winning against an undefeated opponent.

Rogan discussed this on the Joe Rogan Experience with his friend and former UFC heavyweight, Brendan Schaub. The former Fear Factor host revealed that he had noticed that something was off about Strickland’s shoulder before the fight even started.

Hold on, Sean had one arm… I noticed he was doing this at the beginning of the fight he before the fight started, he was doing this with his arm… I’m like, ‘Ooh, that’s what I do if my shoulders hurt to see how hurt it is.’ He was only going there with deadpan killer look on his face. Still won, still fought when a lot of guys would have pulled out. A lot of guys would have said I can’t use my arm, I’m pulling out.

Joe Rogan via the Joe Rogan Experience

After the fight, Sean Strickland told Alex Pereira‘s coach, Plinio Cruz, that he suffered the injury before the fight at his gym.

You know what’s crazy? When I was training at the gym Tuesday, I separated my shoulder. All night long bro, when I got home on Tuesday, I couldn’t sleep on my side…I felt like such an idiot bro.

Sean Strickland told Plinio Cruz

Suffering a shoulder injury on the Tuesday before UFC 328 meant Sean Strickland had only 3 days to rest his shoulder before he had to take on the then UFC middleweight champion. Battling such odds has only added to the mythos of this win for the newly crowned middleweight champion.

Later, on X, Sean Strickland revealed the extent of the injury he fought to make it to the fight against Khamzat Chimaev.

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Sean Strickland reveals details of shoulder injury suffered before UFC 328

There have been many instances of fighters fighting overcoming gruesome injuries to win fights. Jon Jones‘ big toe was almost perpendicular to his foot by the end of his fight with Chael Sonnen. Michael Bisping competed for years with only one eye, fooling doctors into clearing him. Now, Sean Strickland joins the list of resilient fighters who battled such physical adversity to become a champion.

Sean Strickland at UFC 328
Sean Strickland at UFC 328 (via X)

After fighting through injury last weekend at UFC 328 and shocking the MMA world, it seems Strickland finally found out the extent of the injury he suffered on Tuesday. He then took to X to give fans an update on it.

Type 2 AC separation Extended Type V SLAP tear Partial rotator cuff tearing/tendinosis. Gonna have to walk this one off…

Sean Strickland via X

Per OrthoInfo, a type 2 AC separation usually requires around 6-12 weeks for a complete recovery. However, the type 5 SLAP tear and rotator cuff tears complicate matters for Strickland. Per the Cleveland Shoulder Institute, such an injury requires around 6-12 months of recovery time before an athlete can return to their sport. So, it could be a while before fans see Sean Strickland back in the octagon.

Nevertheless, the middleweight champion revealed his desire to rest up before taking on the next challenger, Nassourdine Imavov. This injury to Strickland means that all of the UFC’s champions above welterweight are now on the sidelines nursing injuries. Tom Aspinall has been out since October, needing double eye surgery after Ciryl Gane fouled him. However, the Englishman seems to be nearing a return.

Newly crowned light heavyweight champion, Carlos Ulberg, was also sidelined by a torn ACL that he suffered during the UFC 327 main event. Despite successfully undergoing surgery, it may take Ulberg up to a year to recover. Now, with this injury, Sean Strickland faces a similar long and arduous road to recovery.

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