TLDR
- Sean Strickland was injured in a vehicle accident when a side-by-side rolled over six times at approximately 60 mph
- The UFC champion was not wearing a helmet and hit his head multiple times on the ground
- Strickland suffered a gash on his head, shoulder soreness, and reported symptoms of a concussion
- His friend Chris Cornell, who was driving, broke his collarbone in the crash
- Despite the injuries, Strickland said he was feeling better and planned to return to sparring the next day
Sources: yardbarker.com | mmajunkie.usatoday.com | timesofindia.indiatimes.com
UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland was injured in a vehicle accident that left him with head injuries and a possible concussion. The fighter shared details of the crash through social media posts on Sunday.
Strickland was riding as a passenger in a side-by-side vehicle with friends, including fellow fighter Anthony Hernandez, when the accident occurred. His friend Chris Cornell was driving the vehicle at the time.
Vehicle Flips Multiple Times at High Speed
The side-by-side rolled over approximately six times while traveling at around 60 miles per hour, according to Strickland’s account. The UFC champion was not wearing a helmet during the incident.
Sean Strickland provides an update following a crash in an off-road vehicle.
🎥 Sean Strickland pic.twitter.com/8AXEpkIXIi
— UFC on TNT Sports (@ufcontnt) September 22, 2026
“I let my buddy drive, he rolled, we were going like 60mph, we rolled like six times,” Strickland said in an Instagram video. “I didn’t have a helmet on. I’m an idiot.”
Strickland showed visible injuries from the crash in his social media posts. He displayed a gash on the side of his head and reported shoulder pain from repeatedly hitting the ground as the vehicle rolled.
“That was just from rolling and smacking the dirt,” he explained in the video. The fighter said he hit the ground six times during the rollover.
In follow-up Instagram stories, Strickland reported experiencing symptoms consistent with a concussion. “I’m a little concussed,” he said, while emphasizing that he was not in control of the vehicle during the crash.
Driver Breaks Collarbone in Crash
Strickland later posted a photo of Cornell in the hospital, where it appeared his friend had broken his collarbone from the accident. Despite the severity of the crash, Strickland said it was “the most fun he had in a while.”
In later updates, the 35-year-old fighter appeared more optimistic about his condition. “I’m good, bro, I’m sparring tomorrow,” he said in one video, suggesting he planned to return to training quickly.
However, Strickland also acknowledged the severity of his condition in other posts. “I am real f***** up, dude,” he said in one video describing how badly he was feeling after the crash.
Strickland recently won the UFC middleweight championship by defeating Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 328. The victory marked his return to the title after previously holding and losing the belt.
The fighter had beaten Chimaev to reclaim the championship after Dricus Du Plessis had defeated him twice in previous title fights. Du Plessis lost the belt to Chimaev at UFC 319 before Strickland won it back.
While the UFC has not officially announced Strickland’s next opponent, Nassourdine Imavov has been mentioned as a potential challenger. Imavov is currently on a five-fight winning streak and previously lost to Strickland in a short-notice light heavyweight bout in January 2023.
Du Plessis’s coach, Morne Visser, has argued that a trilogy fight between Du Plessis and Strickland makes more sense than a bout with Imavov. Du Plessis recently returned to the win column with a dominant performance against former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman in July.
No official medical diagnosis has been publicly released regarding Strickland’s injuries from the accident. The fighter’s latest social media updates indicated he was feeling better and expected to resume training soon.
