Mark Zuckerberg is ready to throw down against Elon Musk in a UFC cage fight. Elon Musk? Not so much.
Zuckerberg recently revealed that his original date for the proposed ‘Battle of the Billionaires’ was August 26th, but he wasn’t “holding his breath” on Musk actually following through on fighting him. Shortly after that, Elon admitted he may need back surgery before he’d be fit to compete in the UFC octagon.
Now the tech guru behind the website formerly known as Twitter is suggesting a battle with the Facebook and Meta founder should take place with words instead of fisticuffs.
TED Talks head Chris Anderson brought up the idea earlier this week and Musk was agreeable to it.
Here’s a better idea: a cage match DEBATE — ‘How to Build an Amazing Future,’” Anderson tweeted. “No holds barred. Except actual holds.”
“That sounds like a good idea too,” Musk replied. “This is really fighting as (I believe) a noble sport. We also hope, with humility, to express our admiration for those who have fought before for noble causes.”
Fortunately for those of us looking forward to watching two rich dudes fumble their way through a physical confrontation, Musk is still going back and forth on the idea. On Friday morning (August 11, 2023), Musk was once again hyping up the fight.
“The fight will be managed by my and Zuck’s foundations (not UFC),” he wrote. “Livestream will be on this platform and Meta. Everything in camera frame will be ancient Rome, so nothing modern at all. I spoke to the PM of Italy and Minister of Culture. They have agreed on an epic location. Everything done will pay respect to the past and present of Italy.”
Everything done will pay respect to the past and present of Italy
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 11, 2023
UFC president Dana White recently revealed that he had taken time out of his vacation to meet representatives of the Italian government regarding use of the Colosseum, the ancient arena where gladiators once competed. Musk had previously said that’s where he wanted the match to take place, and White is pulling out all the stops to keep him happy.
White also addressed the idea that Musk is going to duck Zuck.
“I literally talked to Elon yesterday and I was with Zuckerberg two days ago,” White revealed during a Power Slap press conference. “Ducking? No.”
“You’re talking about two of the richest, most powerful guys in the world,” he said, suggesting the deal just had more hurdles than usual to complete. “You’re talking about a couple of eccentric billionaires, okay? If you look at what it takes to put together a fight between two professional fighters who do it for a living, you know what I mean? No, nobody’s ducking anybody.”
We’ll continue to cover this match as best as we can, relying solely on the words coming out of the three people who actually matter: Dana White, Mark Zuckerberg, and Elon Musk. And maybe Musk’s mother, who is also the fan of a debate rather than fight. She went so far as to preemptively cancel the fight back in June.
“I canceled the fight,” Maye Musk wrote on X/Twitter. “I haven’t told them yet. But I will continue to say the fight is canceled, just in case. Fight with words only. In armchairs. Four feet apart. The funniest person wins.”
Where’s the fun in that?
This story originally appeared on MMA Mania
