Justin Gaethje revealed he received a phone call from President Donald Trump during Arman Tsarukyan’s match against Mauricio Ruffy at UFC 331, an interruption that caused him to miss the entire first round of the bout.
Speaking on a podcast, Gaethje explained the surreal moment. “It was kind of crazy. So, as soon as the bell rang, my phone rang. I look down, it’s Donald Trump calling me? So, I answer the phone and we talked for like four minutes. So, I missed the entire first round. And then I look up and I’m like, ‘How did his eye get messed up?’ And then he [Ruffy] got knocked out. So, that was the experience I had.”
The call came while Trump was spending a casual Saturday watching the match alongside professional golfer Bryson DeChambeau.
Gaethje detailed the conversation, saying Trump told him, “Justin, I just saw you on TV. You look tougher than everybody. I got Bryson Dechambeau here. He wants to talk to you.”
Gaethje said he used the moment to pitch himself as a future golf partner, telling DeChambeau, “What’s up, Bryson? Let’s golf. I want to be a YouTube golfer. Please give me some tips.”
The UFC star also said that he’d like to eventually golf with both Trump and DeChambeau together. “I was like, us three need to golf,” he said, adding that he has not yet played a round with either of them.
The distraction meant Gaethje missed how Tsarukyan’s eye became swollen before the match was over. When asked for his read on the performance, including influencer N3on being in Arman Tsarukyan’s corner, Gaethje kept his answer short. “Nah, I don’t have thoughts,” he said.
