A viral clip from a White House UFC event led to speculation about a brief interaction between President Donald Trump and fighter Ciryl Gane.
Following UFC Freedom 250, held at the White House to celebrate President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday, a video began circulating online, suggesting that UFC champion Ciryl Gane had refused to shake the president’s hand. This short clip quickly gained widespread attention, fueling rumors of a snub.
However, a more thorough examination of footage and photographs from the event reveals a different scenario. Extended videos and images captured from various viewpoints clearly show Gane shaking hands with Trump, rendering the viral assertion misleading.
The Claim: Ciryl Gane declined to shake Donald Trump’s hand.
The widely shared video depicts an exchange between the president and the French MMA fighter after UFC Freedom 250, which took place on June 14, 2026, coinciding with Trump’s 80th birthday.
In the brief clip, Trump appears to pat Gane on the shoulder before the fighter walks away, leading some social media users to interpret this as a refusal to shake hands.
An X post featuring this video, which had amassed nearly six million views at the time of reporting, stated: "Ciryl Gane, besides being a UFC champion, is a man of worth !! He just gave Trump a masterful brush-off."
The clip also circulated on Facebook and Instagram, with users echoing the sentiment that Gane had intentionally ignored the president.
The Fact Check: Comprehensive video evidence confirms Ciryl Gane shook hands with Donald Trump.
The claim is unsubstantiated.
Photographs taken during the same moment, including those captured by Reuters, unequivocally show Gane shaking hands with Trump after the event.
A more complete version of the interaction, available on YouTube and filmed from multiple angles, further corroborates that the two men did indeed shake hands and engaged in a brief conversation before Gane departed. The truncated viral clip omitted this crucial part of their interaction, thereby creating a false impression.
Had Gane publicly refused to engage in a handshake with the president during such a prominent White House event, it is highly probable that major news and entertainment outlets would have extensively covered the incident.
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 hosted the historic UFC Freedom 250 at the White House.
The video’s emergence followed Trump’s hosting of UFC Freedom 250 on his 80th birthday, marking the first professional combat sports event ever held on the South Lawn of the White House.
The event, held under a temporary 92-foot steel structure known as "The Claw," attracted over 4,000 attendees. Among the guests were Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, cabinet officials, political allies, and other invited dignitaries who witnessed a seven-fight card staged on the White House grounds.
This unprecedented event garnered significant attention across social media and news outlets, making clips from the evening particularly vulnerable to viral misinformation and manipulated edits.