After the middleweight contender was rushed out of a UFC party near the White House Sunday night, his representation confirmed they will now expect federal agents to carry him out of all future engagements.
WME agents were reportedly high-fiving Monday morning after securing what industry insiders are describing as a first-dollar federal extraction clause for the former UFC middleweight champion. Following an incident where Strickland was abruptly escorted from a Washington D.C. gathering by President Donald Trump's Secret Service detail solely for his own safety, the fighter's team immediately moved to make the taxpayer-funded perimeter a standard feature of his overall deal.
Because Strickland was not cited for disorderly conduct, his representatives are aggressively pitching the incident not as a security threat, but as a pure luxury amenity. The optics of a multi-agent, government-mandated removal instantly bumps the fighter's quote up by at least $2 million per appearance, according to an anonymous streamer executive familiar with the matter. Endeavor, which owns the UFC, is reportedly already fielding calls from CAA and UTA clients demanding similar unprompted removals from crowded VIP areas.
Getting a private elevator is cute, but getting physically removed from a room by the executive branch without actually committing a crime is the new gold standard for above-the-line talent.
Netflix and A24 are currently locked in a heated bidding war for the exclusive streaming rights to Strickland's next sudden removal from a public space. Early budgets for the attached extraction are rumored to be hovering in the mid-eight figures, with top-tier directors already circulating the scriptment for how the fighter will be safely rushed out of a Buffalo Wild Wings.
Strickland’s camp has firmly denied rumors that they will settle for standard Homeland Security personnel at UFC 306. Sources close to the negotiations indicate the fighter is fully prepared to walk away from the octagon if the promotion cannot guarantee a minimum of four sunglasses-wearing agents physically lifting him by the armpits before the main card begins.