Joe Rogan didn't hold back when praising Sean Strickland's incredible title-winning performance at UFC 328, calling the new middleweight champion the "f*cking captain of the deep water."

Strickland (31-7 MMA, 18-7 UFC) pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the year when he dethroned Khamzat Chimaev (15-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) this past Saturday at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. The victory marked a stunning turnaround for Strickland, who entered the fight as a heavy underdog against the previously undefeated Chimaev.

What made the win even more impressive was how Strickland weathered Chimaev's early storm. After surviving a furious opening round, Strickland flipped the script in Round 2, forcing Chimaev into a stand-up battle and out-striking him for the victory. It was a masterclass in grit and adaptability.

"I was nut-riding for Strickland the whole time," Rogan said on a recent episode of his "Joe Rogan Experience" podcast. "I was like, that guy is the f*cking captain of the deep water. He knows how to go into deep water, man. And he knows how to survive. He can survive."

Rogan specifically highlighted Strickland's underrated grappling skills, which played a crucial role in neutralizing Chimaev's wrestling-heavy game plan. "The thing about Khamzat is if he takes you down, he wants to hold you down and just beat on you and not expend a lot of energy, like he did with Dricus (Du Plessis). You can't do that with Sean. Sean is not going to sit still. He's very hard to hold down. He's got super underrated grappling. Super underrated. When you saw he almost threw Khamzat later in the fight, and he did wind up on top multiple times."

Adding to the legend of the performance, Strickland revealed after the fight that he competed with a laundry list of injuries: a Type 2 AC separation, an extended Type 5 SLAP tear, and a partial rotator cuff tear with tendinosis. Rogan noted that he spotted Strickland testing his injured shoulder before the fight even started.

"He ain't easy for anybody, and he had a blown-out shoulder," Rogan said. "Sean had one arm. I noticed he was doing this at the beginning of the fight. Before the fight started, he was doing this with his arm (lifts it up and down). So, he's warming up, he's doing this, but he kept doing this with his right arm. I'm like, 'Ooh, that's what I do if my shoulder's hurt, to see how hurt it is, how does it feel,' but deadpan-killer look on his face. Still won. Still fought, when a lot of guys would have pulled out."

Rogan pointed out that this isn't the first time Strickland has fought through significant injury. "A lot of guys would have said, 'I can't use my arm, I'm pulling out.' ... Second fight with DDP, he f*cked his shoulder up, too, driving a dirt bike like a f*cking psychopath. Crashed his dirt bike, f*cked his shoulder up, and they told him he had to fight. So you had to take the fight."

For fans looking to channel that same warrior spirit, Strickland's fighting style is a reminder that heart and durability matter just as much as technique. Whether you're training for your next sparring session or just hitting the gym, gear up like a champion with performance wear built to last through the toughest rounds.