UFC champion says he has been banned from White House fight over criticisms of Trump

Sean Strickland of the US reacts after defeating Israel Adesanya of Nigeria during the Middleweight Title bout of UFC 293 at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia, on 10 September 2023. Photograph: Dan Himbrechts/EPA View image in fullscreen Sean Strickland of the US reacts after defeating Israel Adesanya of Nigeria during the Middleweight Title bout of UFC 293 at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia, on 10 September 2023. Photograph: Dan Himbrechts/EPA UFC champion says he has been banned from White House fight over criticisms of Trump Sean Strickland claims he was not cleared to attend the UFC event because he ‘made fun of Israel and Epstein’ The only current US UFC champion says he has been barred from Sunday’s fight card on the south lawn of the White House because he dared to criticize Donald Trump , Israel and Jeffrey Epstein. On Tuesday night, middleweight champion Sean Strickland wrote on X that he had been informed by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that he had not been cleared on attend the event by the White House. A UFC official “said he will get it done”, Stickland claimed, and UFC “filmed it and embedded has the footage”. “I later got a call from the UFC saying ‘I wasn’t cleared by the White House’,” he added. When a fan had earlier asked for specifics on why he had been excluded, Strickland replied: “I made fun of Israel and Epstein.” In a subsequent post on X, he went further: “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, born in California, recently reclaimed the middleweight title with a split-decision victory over Khamzat Chimaev in May in Newark, New Jersey, making him the only undisputed men’s title holder in the UFC, aside from Burmese champion Joshua Van who moved to Houston, Texas, as a teenager. Strickland was once among Trump’s most vocal supporters in combat sports, but publicly soured on the US president after last year’s US strikes on Iran. “I stopped supporting Trump after Israel made him bomb Iran the first time,” he wrote on X . “Trump ‘stop bombing Iran’ Israel ‘Trump we need your bombers’ Trump ‘yes papa BB [Netanyahu] I got you.’” Strickland’s grievances appear to resonate with a significant portion of the US public. A June poll from the Economist/YouGov found that 68% of Americans want a deal to end the war with Iran as soon as possible, while a Reuters/Ipsos poll released today found only 10% of respondents believe the Trump administration has properly helped deliver justice in cases connected to Epstein, the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender. Earlier this week, UFC chief executive Dana White dismissed Strickland’s allegation that he was barred from the event. “Of course, Sean Strickland isn’t [banned],” White told reporters on Tuesday . “Sean Strickland is banned from humanity. We don’t want him near any human beings anywhere.” Casting the wider narrative of banned fighters as a