Sports

Sean Strickland mobbed by crazed fans as he crashes UFC White House press conference

By Joshua Ryan MMA Weekly

Controversy seems to follow Sean Strickland wherever he goes. Despite allegedly being warned away from the UFC White House press conference, Strickland couldn't resist, secretly attending the historic presser and leaving a trail of chaotic fans in his wake.

While Dana Whiterefuted rumors that anyone was banned from the White House press conference, Strickland claimed that recent remarks against Donald Trump and other sensitive subjects led to his exclusion. The 35-year-old made some incredibly critical comments targeting Trump's relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, alongside repeated rants regarding disgraced businessman Jeffrey Epstein and his unsettling history with the world's elites.

Whether his appearance at the UFC White House press conference was a welcome one, Sean Strickland attended. Like everything he does, his visit to the executive mansion was an unusual one. The UFC middleweight champion interacted with crazed fans, playfully attacking several, before being chased by a large crowd and evacuating.

Sean Strickland intended to blend into the crowd anonymously, wearing a face cover and a hooded jacket to hide his identity.

Intent on doing their job, event security demanded that he remove the disguise for identification purposes, leading to fans recognizing and subsequently swarming the UFC champion.

Recapping on what led to him being chased by fans and the events that led to him escaping the mayhem, Strickland revealed all in a video posted online:

"I had my face covered," Strickland said. "I'm literally just sitting there watching the press conference, and these cops come up to me and [they 're] like, 'Hey, you gotta take off your hoodie.' And I'm a like, 'I'm the middleweight champion, if I take my hoody off, it's just gonna be f***ing bad. I can't do it. I cannot take off my hoodie. If I take off my hoodie, we're all f***ed. We're all f***ed.' Then the guy says, 'No, you have to do it.'"

"I pulled down [my mask]. Just f***ing Google me. Then he's like, 'You gotta do it.' So I'm like, 'Alright. But you better keep me safe and protect me...' I take off my hoodie, and he shines a flashlight in my face and the crowd just loses it. These cops just take the f*** off. I didn't want that to happen."

"The boys in blue just saved my life. We're out there doing the right things. We almost died."

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This story was originally published June 13, 2026 at 7:00 AM.

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