Sean Strickland shares gruesome ‘horror movie’ facial injuries from Khamzat Chimaev upset at UFC 328

Sean Strickland’s nose is almost the size of his face following a five-round war at UFC 328.

Strickland shocked the world by claiming a split decision win against Khamzat Chimaev to take the UFC middleweight title in the Newark, New Jersey, main event.

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In doing so, the American became a UFC champion for the second time while handing Chimaev his first loss in mixed martial arts.

Strickland was forced to overcome adversity early on in the fight when Chimaev took him to the ground with relative ease.

But the 35-year-old fought back hard to keep the champion on his feet, piercing Chimaev’s guard with his trademark jab to get a close yet deserved victory.

Despite the mutual hate between the two middleweights in the build-up to UFC 328, there seems to have been respect born from their shared rivalry.

Chimaev wrapped the middleweight title around Strickland’s waist after the bout as both men embraced and the latter apologised for his comments towards the champion.

Strickland: It looks like I was in horror movie

“Thank you to all the fans who supported me. Wouldn’t be here without you,” Strickland captioned an Instagram post in the hours following his win.

“Thank you to the warrior Khamzat Chimaev for sharing the cage with me.”

Chimaev responded: “See you soon again.”

Strickland’s win, of course, didn’t come without the war wounds.

Leaving the Octagon, the American said it felt like he broke his nose during the contest, while also boasting a black eye and cuts to his lip.

@stricklandmma on Instagran

“Oh my god, what happened to my face?” Strickland said during UFC 328’s post-fight show on Paramount.

“It looks like I was in a horror movie.”

Strickland proceeded to share an up-close image of his injuries on Instagram, and it’s absolutely brutal.

Furthermore, the American even revealed he was already dealing with an injury when speaking to the media in his post-fight press conference.

Strickland injured shoulder pre-UFC 328

Strickland was training with PFL star Johnny Eblen in preparation for his fight and explained: “He shoots on me and I hit this brick a** wall and separated my shoulder.

“I had a Grade 1 AC joint separation, and I remember lying in bed on Tuesday night, can’t lie on my left side, I’m like, ‘You’re such a f***ing idiot.'”

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“In the back, I like to get better warmups, but I didn’t wanna warm up and throw my shoulder out.

With Chimaev telling UFC CEO Dana White that he wants to move up a weight class next, Strickland is likely to make the first defence of his new reign against someone else.

He has already lost twice to current No. 1 contender Dricus du Plessis, who Chimaev beat last August to win the belt, but may want to get his revenge in a trilogy.

Strickland did, however, mention the man behind du Plessis in the rankings, Nassourdine Imavov, as the most probable next opponent.

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