Strickland fires back at Dana White over White House event ban claim

Sean Strickland is standing firm in his account of being excluded from the UFC’s White House event, directly contradicting UFC CEO Dana White’s explanation that the middleweight champion was simply squeezed out by limited ticket availability.

On Tuesday, White pushed back on Strickland’s claim that he had been barred from Sunday’s event as punishment for publicly criticising President Donald Trump, his administration, and Trump’s relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. White said he believed Strickland had no interest in attending in the first place.

Strickland responded on Twitter with a specific and detailed counter-narrative. According to the former middleweight champion, UFC CFO Hunter Campbell told him directly after his win over Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 328 that he would receive an invitation to the White House show — a conversation Strickland says was captured on camera by the UFC’s own embedded film crew.

“After my fight Hunter said he will get it done,” Strickland wrote. “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’.”

The claim shifts the story significantly. Where White framed the situation as a logistical issue, Strickland is alleging that a formal promise was made and then rescinded — and that the reason given to him explicitly referenced White House clearance, not ticket numbers.

Strickland, who has never been shy about his political views, used the same Twitter thread to renew his criticisms of the Trump administration before suggesting he may step back from posting on the platform altogether.

The UFC has not publicly addressed Strickland’s specific claim about Campbell’s alleged promise or the “not cleared” explanation he says he received.