Sean Strickland Hints at White House Appearance for UFC Freedom 250 Despite Dana White’s ‘No Invitation’ Claim

Sean Strickland has revealed that he has finally managed to procure an invite to the upcoming UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House.

Sean Strickland Hints at White House Appearance for UFC Freedom 250 Despite Dana White’s ‘No Invitation’ Claim

Dana White and Sean Strickland (via MMA Mania)

UFC CEO Dana White has always been a proponent of free speech and letting his fighters speak their minds freely. The veteran promoter has even argued with journalists who have pushed back against the long leash White gives his fighters. However, one fighter who seems to flip this scenario on its head is UFC middleweight champion, Sean Strickland.

The two-time middleweight champion has a knack for getting himself knee-deep in controversy. This holds true even when he isn’t the focal point of a UFC event and the upcoming White House card is no exception.

Not long ago, Strickland stirred up the MMA community when he claimed that he was banned from UFC Freedom 250. However, now, the Xtreme Couture fighter has revealed that he will be attending the historic event.

‘Tarzan’ had confessed earlier that he wanted to attend the event to support Alex Pereira who fights in the co-main event. Despite allegedly not being “invited” to the card, the 35-year-old allegedly enlisted a friend’s help to secure his entry to one of the biggest sporting events in American history.

You guys good news!!! My buddy just told me he has a extra ticket to the fight!! Lets goooo! Dana “Sean isnt banned, he wasn’t invited” Thanks man!!! @ufc.

Sean Strickland via X

The former welterweight also clarified to a fan that he was not banned from the event, and was simply not privy to an invite.

Dana said I wasnt invited… not that I couldn’t go lol.

Sean Strickland via X

With this explanation, Sean Strickland has verified Dana White’s earlier debunking of the situation. White had explained that given the limited capacity and even more limited amount of tickets he had received, the list of invitees was not long.

It appears that despite being the only male American champion on the UFC roster, Strickland was among the unlucky few without an invite to the White House card. Nonetheless, all’s well that ends well and for the two-time middleweight champion as things could not be going better in the capital.

Strickland was busy making a spectacle of himself outside the White House when the fighters on the UFC Freedom 250 card participated in the press conference. While the controversial star appears to have secured his way into UFC Freedom 250, not everyone was sympathetic to his complaints about being left off the invite list.

RELATED
Dillon Danis Used Conor McGregor’s Iconic Trash-Talk to Insult Khamzat Chimaev Days Before RAF 10 Brawl

Justin Gaethje addresses Sean Strickland not being invited to UFC Freedom 250

Despite being the only American male champions in the UFC, Sean Strickland and Justin Gaethje have found themselves at odds with each other heading into the White House card. It all began after the ‘Highlight’ responded to a fan saying that Strickland should boycott the upcoming event. This prompted a reply from Gaethje which in turn led to the fan withdrawing his support for the American this Sunday.

Sean Strickland and Justin Gaethje go off at eachother
Sean Strickland and Justin Gaethje go off at each other (via Bloody Elbow, Home Of Fight)

The interim lightweight champion countered this by blasting both the fan and ‘Tarzan’, which drew a scathing response from the latter. Since then, the Americans have intermittently traded barbs. But in a video with UFC legend and commentator, Daniel Cormier, the two-time interim lightweight champion revealed his thoughts on the Strickland not being invited to the historic card.

Given how heated this rivalry between fellow countrymen has gotten, it is not a surprise that Justin Gaethje hasn’t shown a shred of sympathy towards Sean Strickland. However, now that the middleweight has managed to procure an invite to the event, there is no telling where this feud goes.

After all, not only will the two-time middleweight champion now be in attendance to support his friend but he will also watch his newfound rival enact a “secret plan” in the main event against Ilia Topuria.

Also Read: