UFC denies Strickland banned from White House fight

Sean Strickland, wearing a black t-shirt with gold pattern on the shoulders, sits talking into a white and black microphone, held in his left hand, with a gold octagonal UFC belt to his right

Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption,

Strickland is a two-time UFC middleweight champion

ByElizabeth BotcherbyBBC Sport journalist

Published41 minutes ago

Middleweight champion Sean Strickland has not been banned from attending Sunday's UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House, says the organisation's chief Dana White.

The event is set to take place on the White House's South Lawn on President Donald Trump's 80th birthday, as part of the celebrations marking 250 years of American independence.

Last week Strickland claimed the promotion had barred him from the event because of comments he has made about Trump, Israel and the Epstein Files.

Speaking on Tuesday, White dismissed Strickland's claims but said attendance would be restricted because "there are only 4,300 tickets".

"Of course Sean Strickland isn't banned [from the event]," said White, who then joked: "Sean Strickland is banned from humanity. We don't want him near any human beings anywhere."

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Strickland is a polarising figure in the sport and has made homophobic and racist remarks as well as derogatory comments about women.

"He shows up at Power Slap and starts fights," added White. "He made it very clear he didn't want to be part of this event, and now he's banned apparently – nobody is banned.

"Nobody's music is banned, no media members have been banned. The list goes on and on. Nobody's banned. Nothing's banned."

Strickland responded on social media, writing on X that he "got a call from from the UFC saying, 'I wasn't cleared by the White House'" following his title win over Khamzat Chimaev in May.