Trump hails Justin Gaethje as a “Great Fighter” after UFC title win
Trump the president greeted the new UFC Lightweight Champion at the White House after Gaethje knocked out Ilia Topuria to claim the belt on June 14, 2026.
WHITE HOUSE — Donald Trump has praised Justin Gaethje as a “Great Fighter” after his UFC world championship win, in a Truth Social post on July 5, 2026 at 3:59 PM EST.
Here is the full post on truthsocial: “Justin Gaethje after his Big Victory, and attaining the UFC World Championship, at the front door of the White House. He is a Great Fighter! Trump”
The post celebrated Gaethje’s visit to the White House following his rise to the top of the sport’s lightweight division. Gaethje became the current UFC Lightweight Champion after defeating Ilia Topuria by a fourth-round knockout at UFC Freedom 250 on June 14, 2026 (see ufc.com).
Gaethje, nicknamed “The Highlight,” is an American professional mixed martial artist born November 14, 1988, in Safford, Arizona (see wikipedia.org). He holds a professional record of 28-5, with 21 wins by knockout, and ranks fourth in the UFC men’s pound-for-pound rankings (see ufc.com). At 37 years old, he became the oldest fighter to win a UFC lightweight title (see wikipedia.org).
Gaethje has earned 17 post-fight bonus awards in 16 UFC appearances, the highest bonuses-per-fight rate in UFC history, and holds the record for the most Fight of the Night bonuses, with 11 (see wikipedia.org). Five of his bouts have been named Fight of the Year by multiple media outlets (see wikipedia.org).
In the last 30 days, 42 of 532 Trump posts were on the topic “Culture.”
Source: Zenger real-time database of all Truth Social posts.
Note: Chart generated on July 5, 2026 at 4:13 PM EST
Source: Zenger analysis
Note: Table generated by https://zenger.news on July 5, 2026 at 4:13 PM EST