Sean Strickland says he was banned from attending UFC Freedom 250 at the White House, and he is tying the alleged ban to his posts about Israel, Jeffrey Epstein, Donald Trump, and “BB.”
UFC Freedom 250 is scheduled for Sunday, June 14 at the White House, with access controlled rather than sold through a normal public ticket release.
Strickland is a two-time UFC middleweight champion with a 31-7 professional MMA record, including 12 knockout wins, four submission wins, and 15 decision wins. He turned pro in 2008, won the King of the Cage middleweight title earlier in his career, shocked Israel Adesanya for the UFC belt at UFC 293, lost the title to Dricus du Plessis, and later reclaimed UFC gold against Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 328.
Strickland addressed the situation in an Instagram reel after claiming he was blocked from the White House card.
“Well, you guys, I’m not surprised, but I got the call, I got the call, I got the call,” Strickland said in the video. “The UFC higher ups called me, you know, big names. They said, ‘Sean, I got to apologize, but you’re not Israeli enough to go to UFC 250 Israel edition, the White House.’ And I’m not really surprised, you know, I’m not really surprised.”
“So, you know, I think moving forward, I would like to just apologize to Israel. I’d like to say I’m sorry, you know, I’d like to apologize to Trump, and I just want to prove that I’m Israeli enough for you guys.”
“Like, for instance, you know, whenever the list, like, disappear and Trump goes out there and says to everybody that he can’t really go into it because people that, by association, will get prosecuted and like their names will be tarnished, I want to apologize because, you know, I don’t want them to be prosecuted.”
“Or, you know, when Trump goes and bombs the fuck out of Iran that no Americans agree with, that cost Americans five to $15,000 to go fight Israel’s war, I want to apologize. So I’ve been a critic of that, you know, my allegiance was apparently in the wrong place, and I just want to apologize.”
“Or when Trump goes out there and says, ‘Hey, Trump, your approval ratings are the lowest that’s ever been across all demographics,’ and Trump says, ‘Well, you know what, I have a 99% approval rate in Israel,’ I want to apologize and I want to repent and I want to repent, you know.”
“Apparently, I’m not American enough to go to Freedom 250. But I still got my ticket. So maybe we’ll just go, I’ll bring the belt and we’ll just stand outside the gate and we’ll just let them know what we really think about Trump and Israel, you know.”
Watch Strickland’s Instagram video below:
Strickland Pointed To Israel, Epstein And “BB”
Strickland’s replies explained the alleged ban in blunt terms.
“UFC at the white house with BB in the audience. Straight 🇮🇱 slop….”
“To be fair they did ban me… But when you make fun of the leaders of America they tend to be a little petty lol by leaders i mean Israel”
“I made fun of Israel and epstein…..”
“the only male American champ banned at the white house because I said trump is owned by BB… thats not public opinion its fact”
MMA Fighting reported that Strickland had supported Trump’s 2024 re-election before becoming more critical over the Iran conflict and Israel. Strickland’s own X posts matched that shift, including, “Israel “jump” Trump “how high”” and “America doesn’t want to be involved in Israel’s war…… This is not our war. We don’t want it. You were elected by the people. Listen to the people who elected you. WE DO NOT WANT THIS!!!!”
The UFC has not publicly confirmed Strickland’s claim, so the clean framing stays simple: Strickland says he was banned, but the promotion has not answered publicly.
Strickland is the current UFC middleweight champion, and UFC Freedom 250 has pulled political attention because of its White House setting. The card is scheduled for June 14, with access controlled rather than sold through a normal public ticket release.
Related posts are below:
🚨 Sean Strickland says he's BANNED from attending the UFC White House event because he "made fun of Israel and Epstein"
"UFC at the White House with [Netanyahu] in the audience. Straight 🇮🇱 slop.
The only male American champ banned at the White House because I said Trump is… pic.twitter.com/PCbsmbyiTi
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) June 3, 2026
https://x.com/HappyPunch/status/2062234957792031136
