Eric Trump addresses 'leaked messages' over 'rigged' UFC fight

Eric Trump has been forced to shut down claims that he asked UFC commentator Daniel Cormier whether any of the UFC fights at the White House event would be rigged.

The 42-year-old son of Donald Trump and his first wife, Ivana, took to social media to urge that the screenshots that have been circulating online are ‘completely fake’.

For context, the UFC Freedom 250 event on Sunday (14 June) came as part of the celebrations to mark 250 years of American independence and the US President’s birthday.

It saw a UFC fight night take place on none other than the White House’s grounds, with an invite-only guest list and thousands of attendees flocking into nearby fanzones.

But, ahead of the big night, in a now-deleted post on X, UFC commentator Cormier shared a screenshot of a conversation where an account, claiming to belong to Eric Trump, asked him if any of the fighters were injured or if any of the fights would be ‘rigged’.

As reported by the BBC, in the post, he wrote: "I'm probably going to get a lot of flak for bringing this to light, however, I refuse to stay silent. The UFC is a sport that I am deeply passionate about. I will not tolerate this type of insider behaviour. Shame on anyone trying to ruin this beautiful event."

The screenshots of the alleged conversation showed the account asking: “Anything you can tell me about the fighters tomorrow? Who you got winning?”

Another message read: “I’ll just cut to the chase. Are any of the fights tomorrow rigged? I’ve been eyeing the Lopez fight, and I think an upset wouldn’t be too realistic,” alongside some dollar signs.

However, after the messages circulated far and wide alone, Eric came forward to defend himself on social media.

He wrote on X: “This is completely fake! I have never reached out to Daniel. In fact, this is scary.”

Eric later followed up with another post reading: “We are aware of the fake, AI-generated screenshots being circulated online. I have never spoken to Daniel. He has since deleted his post, which confirms it was clearly fabricated. @UFC @danawhite.”

He continued: “This did not happen. They were AI-generated. Please be careful with reporting.”

Daniel himself has since followed up with a cryptic post, reading: “Are people really this dumb?” seemingly confirming that the screenshot was fake, which Eric re-posted alongside a caption reading, “Thanks Daniel.”

Tyla has contacted a representative for Cormier and the White House for comment.