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Dana White calling his experience during an attempted assassination of the U.S. president “f*cking awesome” left many stunned — but not Sean Strickland.
White attended last Saturday’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington, D.C., when chaos erupted after an armed man breached security and exchanged gunfire with Secret Service agents. The suspect, Cole Tomas Allen, 31, from Torrance, California, was eventually subdued and later charged with attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump.
Gunfire triggered panic inside the Washington Hilton ballroom, where roughly 2,600 guests — including journalists, media figures, government officials, and other high-profile attendees — had gathered for the event. Speaking to USA TODAY afterward, White described the moment in striking terms.
“(Suddenly), it just started getting noisy,” White said. “Tables were getting flipped over, guys were running in with guns, screaming, ‘Get down.’ I didn’t get down. It was f*cking awesome. I took in every second of it — it was a wild, one-of-a-kind experience.”
White’s enthusiastic reaction to such a dangerous situation shocked many. Strickland, however, said it was entirely in line with what he expects from the longtime UFC president. Speaking to reporters ahead of his upcoming title fight against Khamzat Chimaev, the former middleweight champion didn’t hold back.
“I’m pretty sure Dana White is a sociopath,” Strickland said. “Let’s be real — at that level, with everything he’s accomplished and the kind of stuff he deals with, he’s probably a highly narcissistic sociopath. His brain just processes things differently. He’s like, ‘F*ck it, bring it on.’ And honestly, I respect that. ...
“I think Dana White would enjoy watching someone get killed. He’s a sick guy, one hundred percent. I mean, come on — don’t we all think that? He’s probably a sociopath, maybe even a psychopath.”
The UFC is scheduled to host UFC Freedom 250 on June 14 on the South Lawn of the White House, with Trump and other high-ranking officials expected to attend.
Strickland, 35, will attempt to reclaim the middleweight title on May 9 when he faces champion Chimaev in the main event of UFC 328 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
