UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland just snuck into a UFC fan event at the White House, where he was then removed and escorted off the grounds by officers. He isn’t on the fight card and has previously claimed he was banned from the event. However, Strickland is in Washington and has spent the week leading up to the UFC Freedom 250 fight week attending various activities. According to ESPN, his presence drew a massive crowd before the main event.
On Saturday, according to the Independent and Strickland’s Instagram, he filmed himself walking through the event, and can be heard telling fans not to make too much noise. However, a mob slowly built up. ESPN stated that the United States Park Police and the US Marshals stepped in to evacuate him from the area for everyone’s safety, and that “the unplanned presence of Sean Strickland drew significant attention from attendees, resulting in disorder.”
In a story, he later stated he might have been cited for disorderly conduct. Marjorie Taylor Greene is one political figure who reacted on X, writing, “And this is exactly how you lose younger male voters, actually a lot more than that demographic. Send in police to haul off an actual American UFC Champion because he used his 1st amendment and criticized Israel.”
It is still unclear what exactly happened
Per ESPN, the Park Police stated, “Strickland was neither cited nor arrested in connection with the incident. However, he was advised not to return to the venue for his own and public safety.” They then stated that he was escorted back to his hotel safely.
From the posts and stories that Strickland uploaded on Instagram and Twitter, he snuck into the event. When he uploaded a picture of himself being escorted away, the caption read: ‘NOT AMERICAN ENOUGH.’
The Independent also wrote that he later uploaded a video that seemed to be shot in the back of a high-security vehicle. He was recorded saying, “I’m pretty sure I didn’t break a law, like I’m pretty sure. But we might be going to jail, but I’m pretty sure we didn’t break no laws.”
There is a bit of a backstory here. Strickland has claimed that he was barred from the fight card entirely because of his vocal criticism of President Trump, Israel, and Jeffrey Epstein. As noted by The Guardian, Strickland has alleged he was told by the UFC that he had not been cleared by the White House to attend.
When he pressed for details, he alleged that a UFC official told him “he will get it done”, though he later received a call saying he was not cleared. The outlet wrote that Strickland described it in his own words on X: “The only male American champ banned at the White House because I said Trump is owned by [Benjamin Netanyahu]. That’s not public opinion, it’s fact.”
Strickland was once a very vocal supporter of Trump, but he reportedly began to sour on him after the US strikes on Iran. Strickland wrote on X, “I stopped supporting Trump after Israel made him bomb Iran the first time. Trump ‘stop bombing Iran’ Israel ‘Trump we need your bombers’ Trump ‘yes papa BB [Netanyahu] I got you.’”
Dana White, the chief executive of the UFC, has reportedly pushed back hard against the idea that Strickland was banned from the event, though he did make his sentiments regarding the UFC champion clear to reporters. He said, “Of course, Sean Strickland isn’t [banned]. Sean Strickland is banned from humanity. We don’t want him near any human beings anywhere.” He went on to dismiss the general narrative that fighters were being excluded, remarking, “Nobody is banned.”
The UFC event has ended with a few other controversies. After knocking out his opponent, heavyweight fighter Josh Hokit ended the match by making insulting comments about Michelle Obama. Additionally, a UFC analyst’s social media account was reportedly hacked to share AI-generated images of Eric Trump rigging the fights.
Published: Jun 16, 2026 09:51 am