Bryce Mitchell Slams White House Fight With Corruption Claim
bryce mitchell backed Sean Strickland late Wednesday and used a press event to attack the planned White House fight. He said the government is “desecrating its role in society by entertaining sports,” placing himself among the UFC figures pushing back on the June 14 card.
Mitchell And Strickland
Mitchell did not soften the message. He said the government should “never” host sporting events, adding that “there's more room for corruption and we already have a corrupted government” and that the government’s role is to “protect us, not entertain us.”
Strickland had already set the tone for the criticism. He said he is blacklisted from the White House fight because of his comments on Israel, and said unnamed UFC higher-ups told him he cannot attend the event.
He also said he already bought his plane ticket and would show up with a bullhorn. Strickland described the plan as a “peaceful protest,” a direct challenge to the idea that the roster is settled before the South Lawn card even begins to take shape.
White House South Lawn
The UFC fight is scheduled for June 14 at the White House, on President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday and Flag Day. The promotion says the event is being held to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
That setup has already turned the card into a political flashpoint. Construction of a 4,000-seat arena is underway on the South Lawn, the UFC expects to spend $60 million on the event, and Dana White said the organization will likely lose $30 million.
The pushback around the card is not new. In December, Strickland said he would not want to go to “hang out with the f—ing Epstein list.” In March, Joe Rogan said it is “weird to have a fight at the White House in the middle of a f—ing war,” while Ronda Rousey said the card “sucks” and “fell extremely short of expectations.”
For the UFC, Mitchell’s comments add another public critic to a lineup that already includes Strickland, Rogan, Brandon Royval and Rousey. The fight date is set, the arena is rising, and the criticism is now coming from fighters who are still close enough to the promotion to make the dispute hard to ignore.
