White House

Sean Strickland was rushed out of a UFC party Sunday night by Secret Service agents near the White House -- not because he did anything wrong -- but for his own safety, TMZ has learned.

The UFC champ -- who has been critical of President Trump -- attended last night's viewing party with UFC fans on the Ellipse overlooking the White House.

As you know, Trump was holding the UFC Freedom 250 fights on the Great Lawn as he celebrated his 80th birthday ... but Strickland was barred from the event because he wasn't invited.

It's curtains on UFC Freedom 250 ... a history-making night at the White House that had everything from an endless stream of knockouts, to an idiotic comment about Michelle Obama.

The judges could've just stayed at home, 'cause all seven fights on the card ended in knockout ... with the main event being the only scrap that even went past the second round.

The night started with President Trump and Dana White walking from the Oval Office to a balcony overlooking the Octagon on the South Lawn ... before the National Anthem was performed.

UFC Freedom 250's got more stars than the American flag ... and we've got a gallery capturing the crowd in all its glory.

Charlie Cotton caught up with Kid Rock -- who told us UFC Freedom 250 ranks #1 in all United States sporting events of ALL TIME!!!

Heavy hitters like Mackenzie Dern, Joshua Van and Diego Lopes also pulled up to the prez's place Sunday evening before one of the most-anticipated events in sports.

Gilbert Burns put a fan in a headlock for a photo-op ... while Jean Silva stood next to his admirers, fists raised, for pics.

Let freedom ring ... UFC’s top fighters are getting ready to step into the octagon today for Freedom 250 ... so we’ve rounded up some of the most iconic celebrities, events, and award presentations held at The White House.

This is the first UFC fight being staged at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue ... but there have been plenty of other noteworthy events over the years ... with tons of star power and plenty of pomp and circumstance at The People's House.

Tomorrow!!! The sprawling lawns of the White House will be slammed with fist-flying action as UFC Freedom 250 brings some of the sport's biggest stars to the nation's capital.

From championship clashes to heavyweight fireworks, the historic event is set to deliver a knockout night in front of a uniquely American backdrop ....

Before the fighters step into the spotlight, can you identify the shredded studs from their bulked-up shots?!

Ariana Grande is spamming the hell out of the White House's TikTok account to make her message crystal clear ... she doesn't want them using her music to promote President Trump's immigration crackdown.

And it looks like someone listened, because the song's been removed from the clip that set Ariana off in the first place.

A new video circulating on social media shows the pissed-off pop star flooding the post's comments section by copy-and-pasting her response condemning the White House for using her music.

ICYMI, Ariana wrote ... "please do not ever use my music in relation to this barbaric, inhumane, heinous nonsense. f*** ice." And now she's reiterated that exact message multiple times under the clip.

Here's something to shake your nerves and rattle your brain ... the Pentagon just released a fresh batch of files connected to unidentified aerial phenomena ... and there's shocking videos of mystery orbs lighting up our skies.

Check out the footage showing a series of separate incidents ... unexplained lights and orbs appear in the sky, sometimes seemingly out of thin air and other times traveling at unknown speeds.

One clip -- a recreation of an event described to government officials -- shows a bright red orb slowly appearing in the sky before later disappearing ... with smaller orbs appearing in sequential order along the same plane.

Calling all you mighty Millennials, ballin' Boomers, groovy Gen X-ers, and everyone else ... We're tappin' y'all into Gen-Z's hottest stories of the week, packed with sexy stars and piping-hot news!

And to kick off Sunday's UFC Freedom 250, we've got your first look at the Octagon Girls!

American wrestler Frankie Edgar was 28 years old when he became UFC lightweight champion back in 2010.

Frankie went up against B.J. Penn -- who notoriously displayed a more powerful build.

In addition to trumping B.J., Frankie's status is backed by beating elite fighters like Sean Sherk and Gray Maynard.

Before this cute kid smiling on the soccer field turned into a professional fighter, he was just doin' backflips in the backyard and growing up in Montana ...

He currently stands at #3 in the UFC bantamweight rankings and is gearing up to fight at UFC Freedom 250 ...

The UFC has infiltrated the FBI headquarters ... with fighters like Justin Gaethje using the agency's digs to prepare for Sunday night's Freedom 250 card at the White House.

The Highlight's setup was put on display in the promotion's new "Embedded" vlog that dropped on Wednesday ... when he casually said the FBI opened its doors to him ahead of his title fight with Ilia Topuria.

Gaethje said the makeshift gym has everything he needs to train -- mats and bags -- but it's gotta be extra cool rolling around on top of the FBI seal.

President Donald Trump is making it crystal clear he doesn't think Stephen A. Smith belongs anywhere near the Oval Office ... doubling down on his "low IQ" jab and turning their war of words up another notch.

In a fiery Truth Social post Wednesday, Trump unloaded on the ESPN personality, calling him everything from an "arrogant fool" to "dumb as a rock" while insisting Smith is completely unqualified to run for any political office.

Trump didn't stop there ... claiming Stephen would get demolished in a debate by even the most incompetent politicians and suggesting former President Joe Biden would look sharp by comparison.

President Trump's administration says it won't tap out on UFC Freedom 250 -- the cage match set to take place on the White House lawn this weekend -- insisting a lawsuit seeking to block the event came in way too late to stop the fight.

Here's the deal ... earlier this week, two Virginia residents filed a lawsuit against the National Park Service and the Department of the Interior, hoping to get a judge to put the event in a chokehold and force a submission ... calling UFC Freedom 250 "deeply corrupt."

Now, the Trump administration has filed its response, which is mainly focused on timing ... pointing out the fight's been in the works for about a year and the plaintiffs waited until the last minute to file.

6/4 -- 5:51 AM PT -- A CNN spokesperson tells TMZ ... "Kaitlan Collins is an exceptional journalist, reporting every day from the White House and the field with real depth and tenacity. She skillfully brings that reporting to the anchor chair and CNN platforms every day, which audiences around the world know they can trust.”

President Donald Trump treated an Oval Office policy question like batting practice ... taking a few swings at CNN's Kaitlan Collins instead of the issue she raised.

The fireworks started when POTUS was pressed about a proposed $1.8B anti-weaponization fund -- a massive compensation program for people who claimed they were victims of politically motivated government investigations -- that has since been scrapped following bipartisan criticism.

Watch the clip ... before Trump could get very far into the substance of the question, he turned his attention to Collins.