Sean Strickland thrown out by Secret Service at UFC White House event
View 2 ImagesUS MMA fighter Sean Strickland was escorted out of the UFC Freedom 250 Fan Fest(Image: Getty)
Sean Strickland, the reigning UFC Middleweight Champion, was escorted from the UFC Freedom 250 Fan Fest at the Ellipse by Secret Service agents on Sunday evening after defying what he had claimed was a ban from the White House event.
Strickland said on Instagram that he was not arrested or taken to jail, but suggested he "may have been charged with disorderly conduct," an offense in Washington, D.C., classified as a Class B misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail, a $500 fine, or both.
Strickland had been publicly vocal for weeks about his belief that his outspoken political views, particularly his criticism of Donald Trump's relationship with Israel and comments about Trump's connections to Jeffrey Epstein, had resulted in him being excluded from the historic card. Meanwhile, UFC kept most media away from Trump and the South Lawn for the card, while the White House issued an extraordinary X-rated response to the nightmare forecast.
Article continues belowDana White pushed back on that framing, describing the lack of an invitation as a consequence of limited space. Strickland was unconvinced, and made his feelings known loudly and repeatedly on social media in the days before the event.
He had promised as much. "Apparently, I'm not American enough to go to Freedom 250," he had written online. "I already bought my plane ticket. We're going. I'm gonna bring the belt and a big bullhorn and we're going right up to the gates."
In the hours before the card, he continued to troll the occasion, posting photographs on X mocking a famous image of Trump at the Western Wall by recreating the pose next to a random wall with a plate on his head, captioning it "Who did it better?"
Content cannot be displayed without consentOn Sunday he followed through. Strickland arrived at the Fan Fest on the Ellipse, the large public park adjacent to the South Lawn where tens of thousands of fans had gathered to watch the fights on screens, and made no effort to conceal himself.
His appearance was not warmly received by the MAGA-heavy crowd, with fans immediately closing in with jeers and boos before chants of "USA" rang around the venue.
Secret Service agents moved in and escorted Strickland out of the event.
View 2 ImagesFans jeered as Sean Strickland was escorted away from the UFC event(Image: Getty)
The spectacle added another layer to a day that had already produced chaotic scenes, with the fights themselves pushed back an hour due to severe weather threatening the Washington D.C. area.
The card, headlined by Ilia Topuria's undisputed lightweight title defense against Justin Gaethje, was always going to carry significant political and cultural weight, constructed as both a UFC event and a birthday celebration for the president on his 80th birthday.
Strickland is not the only American champion in the UFC, but he is among the sport's most genuinely unpredictable personalities.
His political evolution has been notable. Once a vocal Trump supporter, he has grown increasingly critical, with Trump's foreign policy positions and the Iran situation cited as primary drivers of his disillusionment.
Article continues belowIt comes after UFC fans turned as a White House event was delayed in angry scenes.