UFC champion Sean Strickland, a vocal critic of Donald Trump, was escorted out of a UFC viewing party near the White House by Secret Service agents.
The UFC’s reigning middleweight champion had claimed that he had been banned from participating in the UFC spectacle Trump is hosting for his 80th birthday over his criticism of the president.
But as the event got underway on Sunday evening at the arena built on the White House South Lawn, Strickland appeared at the fan fest on the Ellipse, just steps from the White House, where thousands of spectators had gathered to watch the fights on massive screens.
Videos show Strickland, 35, getting mobbed by fans as he entered a WWE ring set up on the Ellipse. He was then surrounded by Secret Service agents and other law enforcement, who were booed by the crowd as they ushered him out of the event.
Strickland later filmed himself inside the back of what appeared to be a high-security vehicle in a video posted to his Instagram Story, 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.”
In another video, the MMA fighter said he “may have been charged with disorderly conduct.” He thanked his fans, saying, “After being banned, you guys riding and supporting me—it means a lot to me.”
He later thanked a fan on X, providing insight into how he entered the venue. “To the fan that snuck me in.. Youre a f---ing legend and a true America,” he wrote.
“You did what the UFC wouldnt.”
Strickland is a controversial figure who has a history of making racist and homophobic remarks, as well as derogatory comments about women. Once a Trump supporter, he has turned on the president, blasting his handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files and his decision to launch the war against Iran.
Last week, he wrote in a post on X that he “got a call from the UFC saying, ‘I wasn’t cleared by the White House,’” after his May title win over Khamzat Chimaev.
However, UFC CEO Dana White, a friend of the president, has claimed that Strickland hadn’t been banned but that he simply wasn’t invited.
“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,” he told reporters on Tuesday.
White, 56, took a jab at Strickland, saying, “Sean Strickland is banned from humanity. We don’t want him near any human beings anywhere.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to the Secret Service and the White House for comment.
