Sean Strickland is the only American men's undisputed champion in the UFC - but claims he has been barred from attending the White House showing next week

Contentious middleweight champion Sean Strickland has claimed he has been prohibited from attending the UFC White House show next weekend.

The one-of-a-kind showcase, which is scheduled to take place on June 14 on Donald Trump's birthday, seemed like a pipe dream last year when the US President expressed his desire to stage a monumental event on the South Lawn. But those plans were quickly given the green light by UFC supremo Dana White.

Next weekend's card will be headlined by a lightweight title showdown between 155lb champion Ilia Topuria and interim titleholder Justin Gaethje. In the co-main event, Alex Pereira will move up to heavyweight and take on Ciryl Gane for the vacant 265lb gold strap.

Tickets to attend the event - billed as 'UFC Freedom 250 event' - were NOT available to the public. The 5,000 spectators that will sit cageside were invited by the UFC, the Trump administration, or are active military members. There may be a few special guests as well - but one man who will not be allowed anywhere near the White House is middleweight champion Strickland.

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The 35-year-old is no stranger when it comes to speaking his mind, and on Wednesday evening, he took to social media to reveal that he has been banned from the event - claiming it stems from his criticism aimed at Trump and his relationship with and the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu.

“UFC at the White House with [Benjamin Netanyahu] in the audience. Straight slop,” Strickland wrote on Instagram. “To be fair, they did ban me. But when you make fun of the leaders of America, they tend to be a little bit petty. By leaders, I mean Israel.”

He added: “The only male American champ banned at the White House because I said Trump is owned by [Benjaimin Netanyahu]. That’s not public opinion, it’s fact.”

When asked what he said to be banned, the UFC champion replied: “I made fun of Israel and [Jeffrey] Epstein.” The American later issued a video in response to his claims that he has been banned from attending the White House event and he doubled down on his criticisms aimed at Trump.

"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 apologised but you're not Israeli enough to go to UFC 250 Israel Edition," he said.

"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 apologise 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 apologise because I don't want them to be prosecuted.

"When Trump goes and bombs the f*** 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 apologise. 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 apologise."

Strickland is expected to return to the cage later this year - with a rematch with Khamzat Chimaev on the cards. The controversial American became the first fighter to ever defeat Chimaev in the cage - beating 'Borz' via split decision at UFC 328 last month.