Fact Check: Did US Marines and soldiers salute UFC fighter at White House?

WASHINGTON, DC: As President Trump's 80th birthday celebration and UFC Freedom 250 continue to generate online debate, a new viral video has sparked controversy across social media. 

The footage appears to show US service members saluting a UFC fighter during a White House event linked to the historic fight card. Users sharing the clip claim the gesture turned troops into props for a celebrity spectacle and violated their constitutional oath. But does the video actually show US Marines and soldiers saluting a UFC fighter? Let's examine the facts.

Claim: US service members are saluting a UFC fighter at White House event

According to a post shared by the X account @skylinereport, the user criticized US service members for appearing to salute a UFC fighter during a White House event. The post opened with the statement, "This is beyond ludicrous," and questioned, "Why the hell are U.S. Marines and soldiers saluting a UFC fighter?"

The user argued that military personnel swear an oath to the Constitution, not to celebrities or public figures, and claimed that using service members as part of a UFC spectacle undermined the dignity of both the military and the country.

The post included a roughly 46-second video from the UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House. The clip begins with a nighttime view of the White House, where uniformed service members stand in formation on the steps and near the entrance.

The video focuses on a group walking through the hallways. At the center is UFC fighter Kyle Daukaus, wearing a red, white, and blue UFC jacket and carrying blue MMA gloves. Walking beside him is Staff Sgt Ty Carter, a Medal of Honor recipient, who is identified on screen as one of the event's "American Heroes." Another man wearing law enforcement-style clothing accompanies them. As the group passes by, several service members stand at attention and salute.

Fact Check: False

The claim is false. The US service members in the video were not saluting UFC fighter Kyle Daukaus as a celebrity. Instead, they were following a long-standing military tradition by saluting Staff Sgt. Ty Carter, a Medal of Honor recipient who was walking alongside the fighter during the UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House.

 Under military custom, service members of all ranks, including senior officers and even the president, salute Medal of Honor recipients as a sign of respect for their extraordinary service and sacrifice. This tradition is recognized across different branches of the US military and is one of the few situations in which higher-ranking personnel salute someone of a lower rank.

The video comes from a patriotic event that featured military personnel, first responders, Medal of Honor recipients, and UFC fighters. In this context, the salutes were part of a ceremony honoring military heroism, not a tribute to a UFC fighter.

The misunderstanding appears to stem from the fact that Carter was walking beside Daukaus when the salutes occurred. However, versions of the footage identify Carter on screen as a "Medal of Honor Recipient." Carter is a decorated Army veteran who received the Medal of Honor from President Obama in 2013 for his actions during the Battle of Kamdesh in Afghanistan in 2009.