The month of November was pivotal for the UFC as two major events took place. First, it was Donald Trump’s 2024 election victory where the President-elect defied expectations by clinching a sweeping win. No one was happier than Dana White. The second was Jon Jones‘ return to the Octagon for his first defense as heavyweight champion at UFC 309. These two affairs happened within days of each other, and with Trump’s victory, White offered the President-elect prime seats at the event, alongside tech mogul Elon Musk. What could go wrong?

Well, nothing really went wrong except for a viral photograph. As with all his appearances at UFC events, Trump was greeted by fans with huge applause while they chanted his name at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Attending the event alongside Trump and Elon Musk were Vivek Ramaswamy who will co-lead the ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ (DOGE) with Musk, Tulsi Gabbard, who will serve as the director of National Intelligence, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who Trump will nominate as the United States secretary of health and human services. Joining them in the blinders was also rapper Kid Rock.

While the event was a massive success, there was one particular moment that fans recently brought up, showing Elon Musk in an awkward position, in a hearty exchange between Donald Trump and Jon Jones, following the latter’s emphatic victory over Stipe Miocic. According to fans on Reddit, the tech mogul was left ‘shaking his own hands’ as the President-elect and heavyweight champion shook each others’.

The fight itself was action-packed and ended in the third round with ‘Bones’ landing a spinning back kick to Miocic’s ribcage and winning the fight via ground-and-pound, but this was not the end of his iconic moment. After Jones won, he decided to pay tribute to the 47th POTUS Donald Trump by doing the latter’s famous YMCA dance move which has made its way into meme fandom.

The moment drew a lot of laughter from the commentary team. However, what about Musk ‘shaking his own hand’? For his haters, this moment gave them prime fodder to make fun of the billionaire CEO. What did they say?

Social media users react to Elon Musk playing third wheel to Jon Jones and Donald Trump!

Trump’s second term as president of the United States comes with the support of the world’s richest man serving as his political enforcer. Within his team, there is a feeling that Musk will play a big role because he not only supports the President’s agenda but is also eager to see the ideas through to the point of pressuring those Republicans who may be less pious to Trump’s cause.

However, for fans, the picture from Reddit made it look like Trump is closer to Jones than to Musk. The image depicted how the reigning HW champ was shaking Trump’s hand while Musk was clasping his own. Fans wrote:

• “He is wringing his hands thinking about how much money he is going to make off Trump’s win.”
• “He’s like an infant that watches their parents and tries to copy their behavior.”

Well, many social media users who saw the image inferred different things according to their thought process. Were some people trying too hard to read between the lines?

• “Hate whoever you want, but I’m pretty sure he’s just clapping…”

This fan was correct. In the image where Jon and Trump were seen shaking hands; the video footage indeed shows that Elon Musk was indeed clapping as the UFC fighter and Trump shared kind words.

Musk reportedly spent more than a quarter of a billion dollars to back Trump, which makes him the largest donor in the 2024 election cycle to either party, as per Federal Election Commission filings. The bulk of the amount was through his America PAC, to which he contributed $239 million.

• “Forget his hands, look at his f*****g expression.”

Elon Musk also donated $10 million to the Senate Leadership Fund. It supports Republican Senate candidates. An additional $3 million went to the MAHA Alliance PAC, which is a group connected with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s ‘Make America Healthy Again’ agenda.

• “He tries so hard to be cool, it’s embarrassing. Comedian Kyle Dunnigan does some really funny skits impersonating him.”

What do you think about the awkward Jon Jones, Donald Trump, and Elon Musk image that has gone viral on social media? Let us know in the comments down below.