TOPLINE Billionaire tech executives Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk first suggested last month that they’d be interested in a UFC-style cage fight—a seemingly absurd idea dismissed as meaningless banter—but escalating tensions between the two and photos of them training with some of the world’s top
fighters have signalled that a billionaire brawl could become a reality.
Musk first proposed the concept of a cage battle on Twitter, where he commented to a conversation regarding Instagram’s then-upcoming rival app Threads, writing, “I’m up for a cage match if he is lol.”
Zuckerberg
The next day, Zuckerberg responded with an Instagram story that included a screenshot of Musk’s tweet with the message “send me location”—a reference to a famous remark by former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
According to a Meta spokeswoman, Zuckerberg was serious in his answer to Musk, and that the Meta CEO’s post spoke for itself.
As speculation about a prospective battle grew, UFC president Dana White chimed in, tweeting a video of himself wearing a Zuckerberg vs Musk shirt that was made available for purchase on the UFC’s website.
White was quoted in the New York Times on July 1 as saying he would assist organise an exhibition match between the tech CEOs and that they both wanted to fight—both men agreeing there should be a charity component to the contest.
Every daily, receive our best stories, exclusive reporting, and essential analysis of the day’s news in your inbox.On July 3, photographs of Musk practising with UFC veteran Georges St. Pierre, mixed martial arts
coach John Danaher, and Brazilian Jiu-jitsu black belt Lex Fridman surfaced online, along with an Instagram post from St. Pierre showing the four men in training gear.
Musk biographer Walter Isaacson later said in a Twitter Spaces session that he doubted a fight would take place and that it was “a metaphor” for the struggle between the CEOs’ competing social media sites.
Zuckerberg, who is trained in the grappling combat discipline of Jiu-jitsu, also used the services of elite fighting talent in July, as evidenced by gym images taken on July 11 with UFC middleweight champion
Israel Adesanya and UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski.
As of July 12, no deal between Musk and Zuckerberg has been reached.
TANGENT
Tensions between Musk and Zuckerberg have risen in the aftermath of the debut of Instagram’s Threads platform, a direct competitor to Twitter that began on July 5 and surpassed 100 million users on July 10.
On Twitter the same day, Musk labelled Zuckerberg a “cuck” and proposed a “dick measuring contest” with him. Twitter’s counsel claimed and threatened to sue Meta for allegedly exploiting Twitter’s “trade
secrets and other intellectual property” and hiring former Twitter employees to assist build Threads, labelling it a “copycat” programme of Twitter.
LARGE NUMBER
Tensions between Musk and Zuckerberg have risen in the aftermath of the debut of Instagram’s Threads platform, a direct competitor to Twitter that began on July 5 and surpassed 100 million users on July 10.
On Twitter the same day, Musk labelled Zuckerberg a “cuck” and proposed a “dick measuring contest” with him. Twitter’s counsel claimed and threatened to sue Meta for allegedly exploiting Twitter’s “trade
secrets and other intellectual property” and hiring former Twitter employees to assist build Threads, labelling it a “copycat” programme of Twitter.
LARGE NUMBER
A cage match between the two CEOs could include some restrictions to account for their size differential. Notably, Musk informed White that he would not be willing to “lose any weight” in preparation for a
hypothetical showdown. Musk, 52, measures roughly 6’1″ tall and has stated on Twitter that he rarely works out. Zuckerberg, 39, is 5’7″ and engages in physical training and competition on a daily basis,
recently winning two medals in his first Jiu-jitsu tournament in May, but he was also choked out in one of his battles, according to the New York Times (Zuckerberg has rejected the story). Zuckerberg also appears
to be the more ardent fight enthusiast, having attended a UFC fight show with his wife, Priscilla Chan, last October.
FORBES ESTIMATION
Musk is believed to be the world’s richest individual, with a net worth of $245.6 billion. Zuckerberg’s net worth is projected to be $108.7 billion, ranking him seventh among the world’s real-time billionaires according to Forbes.
ADDITIONAL READING
As the Elon Musk saga heats up, Mark Zuckerberg is training with UFC champions Israel Adesanya and Alexander Volkanovski (Forbes).
Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg’s ‘cage match’ may not be a joke (New York Times).
Musk’s Latest Zuckerberg Attacks Hit Below The Belt: ‘Zuck Is A Cuck,’ according to Forbes.