American UFC fighter Sean Strickland stunned MMA fans when he won the middleweight championship title over Khamzat Chimaev.

Despite being a standing fighter, Strickland showed high-level grappling skills throughout the match. And the world finally received an answer when @freak.mma posted a video on Instagram from Strickland's training camp.

"A lot of people were shocked by how good Strickland looked in the grappling exchanges against Khamzat. Now we finally understand why… new footage shows he’s been putting serious work into his grappling behind the scenes. The improvement was real," wrote Achilles Rocha.

The video highlighted Strickland's impeccable wrestling skills.

In the video, Strickland is seen in an intense grappling exchange with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighter Achilles Rocha.

But wrestling is just a part of the middleweight champion's training process; there is an entire regimen that helped him become a champion.

Sean Strickland’s Training and Diet Routine

Sean Strickland trains six days a week with a training routine that includes sparring, boxing, wrestling, strength work, and cardio.

During his training sessions, he focuses on hard sparring rounds and striking practice to maintain pressure for five-round fights like the one with Chimaev.

Arm workout:

• Hammer curls
• Bicep curls
• Overhead presses
• Tricep pushdowns
• Push-ups

Leg workout

• Deadlifts
• Weighted squats
• Leg press
• Machine extensions

Back workout:

• Dips
• Pull-ups
• Dumbbell rows
• Dumbbell shrugs

Chest workout

• Bench press
• Dumbbell fly
• Dumbbell press
• Cable crossover

Cardio

• Running

MMA Training:

• Sparring: 5 min x 5 rounds 
• Pad work 
• Shadow boxing
• Heavy bag
• Grappling
• Martial arts
• Wrestling

Strickland follows an unconventional approach to diet, mainly eating things like cheeseburgers and pizza.

In fact, a clip of the UFC star biting a pizza went viral on social media. He reportedly celebrated his promotion from welterweight to middleweight by digging into a cheeseburger for breakfast.

But that all changes when it's time to fight. Strickland abandons all junk food when he has to make weight for his fights, which has been an issue for him in the past.

In one of his Instagram posts in February, Strickland offered a candid look at the weight-cutting process and the toll it takes on fighters. He even went as far as admitting that reaching the weight limit of 185 lbs has been “worse than the fight.”

What do you think? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Ruwa Javed

Edited by

Shubhi Rathore