UFC commentator Joe Rogan has lauded Sean Strickland as the “captain of the deep waters” following his recent triumph over Khamzat Chimaev.
In the headline bout of UFC 328, Sean Strickland secured a split-decision victory against Khamzat Chimaev, reclaiming the UFC middleweight championship. This marks his second reign with the belt, having previously defeated Israel Adesanya in what was also considered a significant upset.
Despite Sean Strickland’s often controversial public persona, he appears to have embarked on a period of reconciliation with fans post-UFC 328, seemingly aiming to mend relations after past public missteps.
During a recent podcast episode, Joe Rogan specifically highlighted the endurance and resilience demonstrated in Sean Strickland’s fighting style.
Joe Rogan on Sean Strickland’s Performance
“I was completely in awe of Strickland the whole time,” Rogan remarked on an episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience.” “I thought to myself, that guy is the absolute captain of the deep water. He understands how to navigate challenging situations, man. And he knows how to endure. He can survive.
“The key with Khamzat is that if he takes you down, his objective is to keep you there and wear you down without expending excessive energy, similar to how he approached his fight with Dricus Du Plessis. You cannot employ that strategy against Sean. Sean is not someone who will remain passive on the ground. He is incredibly difficult to control. His grappling is severely underestimated. It’s truly underrated. You saw him nearly throw Khamzat later in the fight, and he did end up in dominant positions multiple times.”
Rogan also touched upon Strickland’s shoulder injury.
“Many fighters would have stated, ‘I cannot use my arm, I’m withdrawing.’ … In his second fight with DDP, he also injured his shoulder, reportedly from riding a dirt bike like a complete maniac. He crashed his dirt bike, injured his shoulder, and was told he had to fight. So, he was compelled to take the fight. He had to fight with a compromised shoulder. One of the things you notice is when he throws right hands, particularly in this fight, I observed they were sometimes awkward. At times, they just looked strange, as if he was trying to avoid using his shoulder or something similar.”
