Fact Check: Did Ciryl Gane refuse Donald Trump's handshake at UFC Freedom 250?
WASHINGTON, DC: Following the UFC Freedom 250 at the White House, hosted to mark President Donald Trump's 80th birthday, a video began circulating on social media claiming UFC champion Ciryl Gane refused to shake hands with the president after the event. The clip quickly gained traction online, fueling speculation about a possible snub.
However, a closer review of the available footage and photographs from the event tells a different story. Full-length videos and images captured from multiple angles indicate that Gane did, in fact, shake hands with Trump, making the viral claim misleading.
Claim: Ciryl Gane refused to shake Donald Trump's hand
The viral video shows an interaction between the president and the French MMA fighter following UFC Freedom 250, which took place on Trump's 80th birthday on June 14, 2026.
In the short clip, Trump appears to pat Gane on the shoulder before the fighter walks away, leading some social media users to conclude that he declined a handshake.
An X post sharing the video, which had garnered nearly six million views as of this writing, carried the caption, "Ciryl Gane, besides being a UFC champion, is a man of worth !! He just gave Trump a masterful brush-off."
The clip also spread across Facebook and Instagram, where users repeated the claim that Gane intentionally ignored the president.
Fact check: Full video shows Ciryl Gane shaking hands with Donald Trump
The claim is false.
Images taken during the same moment, including photographs captured by Reuters, show Gane shaking hands with Trump following the event.
A longer version of the interaction, available on YouTube and filmed from multiple angles, further confirms that the two men did shake hands and briefly exchanged words before Gane departed. The shorter viral clip omitted this portion of the interaction, creating a misleading impression.
Had Gane publicly refused to shake hands with the president during a highly publicized White House event, the incident likely would have received widespread coverage from major news and entertainment outlets.
A fact check conducted by Grok also concluded that the claim was false, stating, "The claim is false. The viral video is misleadingly edited. Ciryl Gane defeated Alex Pereira at the UFC Freedom 250 event on the White House South Lawn, then shook hands with Donald Trump, exchanged words, and thanked him, as confirmed by full footage, Reuters photos, and multiple news reports. The short clip omits this interaction to falsely portray a snub. Gane participated fully in the Trump-hosted event.”
Donald Trump hosts historic UFC Freedom 250 at White House
The video surfaced after Trump marked his 80th birthday by hosting UFC Freedom 250, the first professional combat sports event held on the South Lawn of the White House.
Under a temporary 92-foot steel structure nicknamed "The Claw," more than 4,000 guests attended the event. The audience included Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, cabinet officials, political allies, and other invited guests who watched a seven-fight card staged on White House grounds.
The unprecedented event drew significant attention online and across the media, making clips from the evening particularly susceptible to viral misinformation and misleading edits.
