Eric Trump repeatedly swatted down what he’s calling “completely fake” screenshots that appear to show him asking a UFC great if any of the fights at the White House on Sunday were fixed.
Daniel Cormier, a retired fighter-turned-color commentator for the UFC, took to X ahead of the “Freedom 250” event on the South Lawn to share images of the president’s son allegedly DMing him to ask about the participating fighters, who he had “winning” the bouts, if he was placing bets and what fighters were going in with injuries.
In one screenshot, the alleged Trump asks whether any of the fights were “rigged,” adding, “I’ve been eyeing the [Diego] Lopes fight and I think an upset wouldn’t be too unrealistic. $$.” (Note: Lopes, who was slightly favored over fellow featherweight Steve Garcia, ultimately won via a second-round knockout.)
The screenshot shows Cormier wasn’t having it, writing, “No none of our fights rigged and honestly I am appalled you would even ask me something like that.”
“I’m probably going to get a lot of flak for bringing this to light, however I refuse to stay silent,” wrote Cormier in a since-deleted post to X. “The UFC is a sport that I am deeply passionate about I will not tolerate this type of insider behavior. Shame on anyone trying to ruin this beautiful event.”
Trump — whose family business helped pay fighters’ bonuses through cryptocurrency — has since denied ever reaching out to Cormier, telling The Wall Street Journal’s Brian Schwartz, “That is absolutely not me. I didn’t even know who the guy was… This is some kind of AI spoof. This is crazy.”
In a post to X, he framed the screenshots as part of a “fake, AI generated” exchange “being circulated online” despite MMA writers like Adam Martin stressing that Cormier himself shared them on his account.
“I have never spoken to Daniel. He has since deleted his post, which confirms it was clearly fabricated. @UFC @danawhite,” Trump wrote.
Cormier appeared to respond to critics, writing on X, “Are people really this dumb?”
Trump replied, “Thanks Daniel.”
HuffPost has reached out to Cormier for further comment.