Dana White dismisses Strickland's ban claim ahead of UFC White House card

Dana White has pushed back on Sean Strickland’s claim that he was barred from the UFC’s White House card on Sunday, insisting no fighter, media member, or guest has been banned from the event.

Strickland, the outspoken UFC middleweight champion, took to social media to allege he was the “only male American champ banned at the White House” after publicly criticising President Donald Trump over the war in Iran and Trump’s relationship with Israel. White, speaking at a media scrum on Tuesday, dismissed the claim with characteristic bluntness.

“Everybody’s banned apparently. Apparently fcking everybody is banned,” White said. “Of course, Sean Strickland isn’t [banned]. Sean Strickland is banned from humanity. We don’t want him near any human beings anywhere. Fcking shows up at Power Slap, he starts fights. He made it very clear he didn’t want to be a part of this event and now apparently he’s banned. Nobody is banned. Nobody’s music is banned. No media members have been banned. The list goes on and on.”

White explained that the event’s limited footprint is the real reason attendance is so restricted. With only 4,300 seats available and the bulk of tickets handed to Trump to distribute among his own invited guests, the White House card is among the most exclusive events the UFC has ever staged.

“This is obviously a very unique event where first of all, there’s only so much room,” White said, noting that around 1,000 journalists are permanently credentialed at the White House. “No, we can’t have 1,000 of the White House media members just show up at this thing. Literally, nobody has been banned from this event.”

It also emerged on Tuesday that the White House has handed media credentialing responsibility for the entire event over to the UFC — a departure from the usual arrangement in which a designated press corps manages access to White House functions. That shift means some outlets may not receive credentials, but White was clear that exclusion through limited capacity is not the same as a ban.

Separately, White also addressed a rumour that fighter Diego Lopes had been forced to change his walkout music, reiterating that no restrictions on song choices had been imposed on any competitor appearing on the card.