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A confusing incident involving alleged messages about rigged fights, questions of insider information, and claims of computer hacking overshadowed UFC Freedom 250 at the White House on Sunday.
Key Takeaways
- Daniel Cormier said he was hacked after images posted to his X account seemingly showed Eric Trump seeking inside info about potentially rigged fights.
- Trump said he’d never spoken to Cormier and that the images were made by AI.
- Ilia Topuria, a -500 favorite, lost the final fight of the night.
UFC Freedom 250 was a first-of-its-kind night of mixed martial arts that took place on the South Lawn of the White House less than one month before the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
In the hours leading up to the event, Daniel Cormier, a former two-division UFC champion, appeared to post screenshots on X from Eric Trump, one of President Donald Trump’s children.
The screenshots – timestamped the night before and the morning of the event – began with Trump revealing he would attend the fights. He then asked for information about the fights, inquired if Cormier was placing any bets, and then questioned, “Are any of the fights tomorrow rigged?”
“I’m probably going to get a lot of flak for bringing this to light, however, I refuse to stay silent,” Cormier wrote on 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.”
Cormier’s supposed post was taken down just minutes after it was posted. However, MMA journalist Adam Martin said he and others in the industry saw the post.
Since I’ve gotten a few DMs about this — yes, the DC tweet was 100% real, I saw it myself. Others saw it. People screen captured it.
DC tweeted and deleted it quickly, but people screen grabbed it fast, too.
Wonder why DC deleted it. Someone got into his ear quickly, I guess.
— Adam Martin (@MMAdamMartin) June 14, 2026
MMA page Delinquent MMA also posted screenshots of Cormier’s statement and the DM conversation.
Daniel Cormier shared a DM from Eric Trump asking him “are any of the fights tomorrow rigged?”
DC deleted this tweet #UFCWhiteHouse pic.twitter.com/wR2yjQkib2
— Delinquent MMA (@DelinquentMMA) June 14, 2026
Responding to controversy
Cormier addressed the post-and-delete of the messages after online chatter picked up.
“Are people really this dumb?” he wrote in a post at 7:38 p.m. ET, 22 minutes before the event was scheduled to begin.
Independent journalist Nicholas Ballasy caught up with Cormier after the fights were over, at which time the UFC commentator claimed an online attacker had gained access to his account.
“Not real. I can’t believe you guys believed that,” Cormier said. “I got hacked or something.”
🚨 Daniel Cormier says he was hacked and the DM conversation with Eric Trump is NOT real
“Not real. I can’t believe you guys believed that. I got hacked or something.”
(via @NicholasBallasy) pic.twitter.com/h2Kshf9Nvr https://t.co/lVkRVdN0SR
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) June 15, 2026
Eric Trump also commented on an online post that included the supposed DM conversation, saying, “This is completely fake! I have never reached out to Daniel. In fact, this is scary.”
“These screenshots are fake. They were fabricated and do not reflect reality,” Trump Organization spokesperson Kimberly Benza wrote on X. “This is one of the dangers of AI-generated content: false information can spread quickly when people don’t verify what they’re seeing. Please do better before sharing misinformation.”
UFC Freedom 250 results
Five of seven favorites won, according to odds taken from DraftKings Sportsbook shortly before UFC Freedom 250 began. The five include:
- Diego Lopes (-162)
- Bo Nickal (-345)
- Mauricio Ruffy (-535)
- Josh Hokit (-455)
- Sean O’Malley (-410)
One of two underdog victories came when Ciryl Gane beat Alex Pereira, although that was hardly unprecedented. Gane was -105 to Pereira’s -115 before he stopped his opponent via TKO in the second round.
The biggest upset of the night came in the final fight, when undefeated Ilia Topuria, a -500 favorite, was stopped between Rounds 4 and 5 by Justin Gaethje (+380).
UFC president Dana White said the promotion won’t return to the White House for another event, saying he “can’t afford it.”
Dana White says the UFC will never be at the White House again
“I can’t afford it. There’s no f*cking way we can do this again.”
😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/x1Etj2SOKr
— Happy Punch (@HappyPunch) June 15, 2026
This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.
