Sean Strickland 'OK' after off-road crash, calls himself 'an idiot'

Sean Strickland said he was "OK" but "an idiot" after surviving a crash in an off-road vehicle that he described as occurring at about 60mph and rolling roughly six times on 22 September 2026, in a series of posts on Instagram.

The 35-year-old American is a two-time UFC middleweight champion and a polarising figure in mixed martial arts who has previously made homophobic and racist remarks as well as derogatory comments about women; he won the title for a second time by beating Khamzat Chimaev in May.

Strickland said he was a passenger with his friend Chris Cornell driving when the vehicle overturned; in one post he wrote: "Guys I'm in a real bad place. I let my buddy drive, he rolled us going like 60 (mph), we rolled like six times," and added, "That's from my head smacking the ground going 60. I didn't have a helmet on, I'm an idiot."

Cornell was taken to hospital after falling unconscious and later posted a picture of himself with his thumbs up in a hospital bed alongside an X-ray of a broken bone; Strickland did not confirm if he went to hospital. Footage posted after the crash shows grazes on Strickland's head and back, and he wrote: "Think I'm OK, Chris is in the hospital but I think he's going to be alright," followed by, "It was the most fun I've had in a long time. My shoulder's a little sore."

Strickland, who lives in Las Vegas, did not say where the crash took place; a video posted shortly before the accident shows the UFC fighter in the desert before he went riding.

He later posted an update, saying he is "a little concussed but good and wants to spar tomorrow." The message was posted after the initial footage and Cornell's hospital image.