The build up to the UFC’s Freedom 250 card on the White House lawn has been unlike any other, from a weigh-in in front of the Lincoln Memorial to the possibility of weather interrupting what’s typically an indoor sport.
The hype took another strange turn on Sunday, when former UFC star Daniel Cormier supposedly tweeted and deleted what are purported to be screenshots of a bizarre exchange between himself and U.S. president Donald Trump’s son, Eric.
While the tweet didn’t stay up for long, it was enough to raise more than a few eyebrows.
Here’s a look at the apparent deleted tweet from Cormier.
LIVE: Follow updates from UFC Freedom 250 at White House
Daniel Cormier-Eric Trump post
Cormier allegedly tweeted screenshots of direct messages between himself and Eric Trump, showing Trump asking him whether he has any inside knowledge of fighters being injured and whether fights are “rigged.”
In the purported tweet, Cormier says, “I refuse to stay silent.” Cormier also pushes back on Trump in the supposed conversation.
I’m a now deleted post by Daniel Cormier, Eric Trump DM’d him and asked him “are any of the fights tomorrow rigged?” 👀 #UFCWhiteHouse pic.twitter.com/lNZMFXWQWJ
— Sean O’Meowlly🍭 (@NeedMyNutsLickt) June 14, 2026
If the conversation is legitimate, it raises questions about the president’s son supposedly trying to gain inside information for betting purposes. For now, though, both Cormier and Trump appear to be trying to pour cold water on the situation.
MORE: Which celebrities are at Freedom 250?
Why did Daniel Cormier delete his tweet?
Cormier is on the broadcast for UFC’s Freedom 250 card, so if the tweet was real, keeping it up might have distracted from the event and drawn more attention to himself than to the fights.
After the controversy, Cormier implied that the tweet wasn’t real:
Are people really this dumb?
— Daniel Cormier (@dc_mma) June 14, 2026
Trump, meanwhile, said outright that the post is “completely fake.”
This is completely fake! I have never reached out to Daniel. In fact, this is scary. https://t.co/ZrnIkHBQ4f
— Eric Trump (@EricTrump) June 15, 2026
Trump also called the tweet screenshots “fake” and “AI generated.”
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
— Eric Trump (@EricTrump) June 15, 2026
Here’s more to know about the tweet’s authenticity.
Is Daniel Cormier-Eric Trump tweet fake?
While Trump denies that the conversation ever took place and Cormier appeared to cast doubt on the tweet’s legitimacy, some MMA reporters — including Adam Martin — claim they saw it themselves before it was deleted.
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
It was a real post by Cormier. https://t.co/k7dzFcTf6e pic.twitter.com/LGCl5uRgmW
— Ryan Frederick (@ryanjfrederick) June 14, 2026
It isn’t difficult to fabricate a tweet with all of the technology available today, but if Cormier never tweeted that purported conversation with Trump, quite a few reputable reporters were fooled.
Read the full article here