UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland has claimed he was barred from attending Sunday’s fight card at the White House after criticising Donald Trump, Israel and Jeffrey Epstein. In a series of posts on X, Strickland said he had been told by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that the White House had not cleared him to attend UFC Freedom 250.
Strickland wrote: “I made fun of Israel and Epstein.” He added that he had said Trump “is owned by Benjamin Netanyahu”. The 33-year-old fighter, who reclaimed his title in May, had previously been a vocal Trump supporter but soured on the president after US strikes on Iran last year.
UFC chief executive Dana White dismissed Strickland’s claim, telling reporters: “Of course Sean Strickland isn’t banned. Sean Strickland is banned from humanity. We don’t want him near any human beings anywhere.” White also mocked the idea that multiple people had been barred, saying: “Everybody’s banned apparently.”
The event, Freedom 250, is set for 14 June on the south lawn of the White House – coinciding with Flag Day and Trump’s 80th birthday. The watchdog group Public Integrity Project has filed a lawsuit arguing the administration broke federal laws to accommodate what it called a “deeply corrupt” private commercial event. Trump’s financial disclosures show he bought up to $50,000 of stock in the UFC’s parent company earlier this year.
Strickland has a history of making racist, sexist and homophobic comments, including remarks about women and a performance by Bad Bunny. The National Weather Service has forecast a chance of thunderstorms in Washington on Sunday evening, when the main event is scheduled to begin.
