Tickets to attend the UFC Freedom 250 event on the White House lawn on June 14 weren’t available to the public. The 5,000 spectators that will sit with a view of the octagon were invited by the fight promotion, the Trump administration, or are active military members.
One person that will not be in audience is middleweight champion Sean Strickland. According to the outspoken fighter, he’s been banned from attending.
Advertisement
On Wednesday, Strickland was asked by a fan on Instagram why he was banned from the historic event. “I made fun of Israel and Epstein,” Strickland replied. “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.”
“Tarzan” won back the 185-pound championship last month defeating Khamzat Chimaev via split decision in the UFC 328 main event. Once a strong supporter of President Trump, Strickland regularly criticizes the administration’s policies of social media.
“For the upset families paying 5 to 15k extra in Israel/Trump war, you are ungrateful… The lack of appreciation you have for Trump and Israel is disgusting. For the 12 service men and women that died, I want to thank their sacrifice on behalf of Israel and Trump. #MIGA To think Iran was 1 month away from nuclear weapons 20 years ago :/ scary…..,” Strickland wrote in an Instagram post Wednesday afternoon accompanying a video.
“I’m not surprised, but I got the call. I got the call. The UFC higher-ups called me, you know, the big names, and they said, ‘Sean, I’ve got to apologize but you’re not Israeli enough to go to UFC 250 Israel Edition,” Strickland said in the video.
Advertisement
“I’m not really surprised. Moving forward I would like to just apologize to Israel. I’d like to say I’m sorry. I’d like to apologize to Trump, and I just want to prove that I’m Israeli enough for you guys. For instance, whenever the (Epstein) list disappeared and Trump goes out there and says that he can’t really go into it because people by association would get prosecuted and like their names would be tarnished, I want to apologize because I don’t want them to be prosecuted.
“When Trump goes and bombs the f*ck out of Iran that no American’s agree with that cost Americans $5,000 to $15,000 to go fight Israel’s war. I want to apologize. Sorry I’ve been a critic of that. Or when Trump goes out there and says, ‘Hey Trump, your approval ratings are the lowest they’ve ever been across all demographics’ and Trump says, ‘Well, you know what? I have a 99% approval rating in Israel. I want to apologize,” Strickland sarcastically said.
