The historic setting for UFC Freedom 250 on the White House South Lawn was already facing major weather delays, but the event was hit with an absolute bomb on social media just hours before walkouts. Color commentator and UFC legend Daniel Cormier drove the MMA world into a frenzy after tweeting—and then quickly deleting—alleged screenshots of direct messages from Donald Trump‘s son, Eric Trump, directly asking if any of the night’s fights were “rigged” or if any of the fighters were injured, as per his knowledge.

Before deleting the X post from his account, ‘DC’ did not mince words, presenting the leak as a defense of the sport’s integrity.

“I’m probably going to get a lot of flak for bringing this to light,” he wrote in the captions while sharing the screenshots. “However, I refuse to stay silent… Shame on anyone trying to ruin this beautiful event.”

The attached screenshots showed a friendly conversation that quickly took a dark turn. After exchanging initial pleasantries about the historic card, Eric Trump pressed the former UFC double champion for inside information.

“Anything that you can tell me about the fighters tomorrow?” he wrote. “Who you got winning? You placing any bets? Are any of the fighters injured that you know of?”

Daniel Cormier maintained his boundaries, reminding Trump that commentators are also strictly barred from betting on the fights. However, that’s when the 42-year-old got right to the point.

“I’ll just cut to the chase,” he texted. “Are any of the fights tomorrow rigged? I’ve been eyeing the Lopes fight, and I think an upset wouldn’t be too unrealistic. $$”

“No none of our fights rigged,” DC responded. “And honestly I am apalled that you would even ask me something like that.”

Well, it was no surprise that the former double champion appeared offended enough to actually share it on social media. In fact, following the immediate internet meltdown over the post and the subsequent deletion of the screenshots, ‘DC’ dropped a cryptic, context-free follow-up tweet.

“Are people really this dumb?” he wrote on X.

The leaked exchange introduces a massive wave of institutional panic for the UFC, especially considering the intense federal scrutiny the Dana White-led promotion has received over the last few years for fight-fixing and betting anomalies.

Late last year, claims circulated that the FBI had flagged over 100 UFC fights due to highly suspicious betting activity, following an intensive investigation into Isaac Dulgarian’s camp and the abrupt cancellation of two Michael Johnson fights due to wild betting-line movements hours before the fight.

Even the broader influencer space associated with the UFC has faced similar criticism; just last month, a “Brand Risk” event hosted by Dana White’s close associate Adin Ross at the UFC Apex was hit with fixed-fight accusations after singer Ray J accidentally suggested on stage that his knockout loss to Supa Hot Fire wasn’t supposed to end the way it did.

But with the president’s son himself being directly linked to such activity, too, in an event his father helped orchestrate, many online are wondering if Daniel Cormier actually did post such screenshots or if it was all a work of AI or someone’s account was hacked.

Are the DMs that Eric Trump allegedly sent Daniel Cormier real?

The sports world has been locked in a fierce debate over whether the viral screenshots are genuine or the result of AI, especially after Eric Trump openly denied the entire exchange on social media.

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

Despite the denial, high-profile media insiders are already stepping forward to confirm the post’s digital footprint, demonstrating that the controversy did not appear out of thin air. Adam Martin, a long-time MMA journalist and podcast host, confirmed that he saw the initial tweet go live on Daniel Cormier’s account before the typical “tweet and delete” occurred.

“DC just tweeted and deleted this,” he wrote on X. “I saw it myself. Crazy stuff.”

However, he noted the bizarre DMs could also be due to Trump’s account getting hacked.

“I will say that the DMs from Trump were a bit weird,” he added. “I do wonder if he got hacked and some hacker sent the DMs to DC. But DC’s post 100% was legit.”

Martin further suggested that someone in the UFC front office likely got into Daniel Cormier’s ear to force the takedown. However, that did not stop the buzz surrounding the whole ordeal. Office sports writer AJ Perez also defended the upload’s validity, stating clearly that he saw the tweet himself and would never risk his reputation by defending a fake image.

“I covered UFC, including a couple of DC’s title fights,” he wrote on X. “He lives in my hometown and he coaches wrestling where I went HS. I’d never make s— up, but if I ever did, it wouldn’t be off a man I respect.

“You think I’d risk my reputation by making s— up about UFC? Props to DC for calling it out. You can guess why it was only up for less than 10 mins.”

This huge corporate scandal worsened an already difficult night for production crews in Washington, D.C. Despite significant marketing pushing for an 8 p.m. EST start time to commemorate America’s 250th anniversary and Donald Trump’s 80th birthday, the UFC was forced to push the outdoor event an hour late to 9 p.m. EST due to bad weather.

So, while the promotion was already fighting an uphill battle against the elements, this significant integrity crisis only made things worse for Dana White and company.