Sean Strickland's road to reclaiming the UFC Middleweight title at UFC 328 was even tougher than fans realized—and it had nothing to do with his opponent, Khamzat Chimaev.

After a hard-fought split decision victory over Chimaev in the main event last Saturday night at Newark's Prudential Center, Strickland dropped a bombshell during the post-fight press conference: he'd been nursing a shoulder injury suffered earlier in fight week.

"You wanna hear something funny?" Strickland asked reporters with his trademark dark humor. "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."

The newly crowned champion revealed he was diagnosed with a Grade 1 AC joint separation just days before the biggest fight of his career. "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 injury forced Strickland to alter his entire fight night routine. "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."

Fortunately for the outspoken veteran, his shoulder held up through five grueling rounds, allowing him to grind out a razor-close victory and reclaim the 185-pound crown. It's a testament to Strickland's toughness—and not the first time he's fought through adversity. Before his rematch against Dricus du Plessis, Strickland was already dealing with a serious shoulder issue but chose not to withdraw.

Now riding a two-fight win streak and once again sitting atop the Middleweight division, Strickland says he's planning some well-deserved time off—especially since he believes he broke his nose again during the fight. For a fighter who's built his brand on resilience and grit, this championship run might be his most impressive yet.