Musk, Zuckerberg ‘dead serious’ about cage fight, UFC boss says
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Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg are “dead serious” about fighting, and plans are already in motion in Las Vegas to stage a cage match between the feuding Bay Area tech moguls.
Dana White, president of Ultimate Fighting Championship, said Thursday that he had spoken with the two billionaires to gauge their interest in a high-stakes showdown inside the Vegas Octagon, where his company stages mixed martial arts fights.
“Probably spent an hour and a half on the phone with both of them last night,” White told TMZ. “Both guys are absolutely dead serious about this.”
The idea for a physical fight between two of the world’s richest men gained traction after Tesla CEO Musk, who acquired Twitter for $44 billion last year, responded to a tweet suggesting that Meta Platforms, the company run by Zuckerberg, was developing a rival service.
“I’m up for a cage match if he is,” Musk said. To which Zuckerberg replied via Instagram, which is owned by Meta, with the primitive phrase: “Send Me Location.”
A spokesperson for Meta said in a statement that the story “speaks for itself.” And things took off from there.
On Saturday, Musk confirmed that the proposed cage match “might actually happen.”
During a Twitter Spaces conversation with Bloomberg senior reporter Ashlee Vance, the 51-year-old Twitter owner admitted he had not started training but is ready.
“I spend my time according to what is needed,” Musk said. “I don’t usually have to fight people.”
Andrew Tate, the controversial social media personality and former professional kickboxer currently facing charges of rape and human trafficking in Romania, volunteered to get Musk into fighting shape. In a tweet directed at the Twitter owner, Tate said, “I will train you. You will not lose.”
Zuckerberg, 39, boasts extensive training in mixed martial arts. Last month, he successfully competed in his first Brazilian jiujitsu tournament in Woodside, securing victory over an Uber engineer and earning two medals.
Oddsmakers favor Zuckerberg in the potential cage match.
“Zuckerberg is 12 years younger and has taken part in an intensive challenge in which he ran a mile, completed 100 pull-ups, 200 press-ups, and 300 squats, before running a further mile, all while wearing a 9kg weighted vest,” Johnny Avello, director of race and sports operations of the sportsbook DraftKings, said in a statement.
White predicts that the proposed fight would draw even more attention than the Conor McGregor versus Floyd Mayweather match of 2017, which generated $600 million in revenue. According to White, the pay-per-view cost for watching the tech moguls’ brawl inside the Vegas Octagon could reach $100, surpassing the standard fee of $80.
The UFC president anticipates the event generating more than a record-breaking $1 billion in revenue.
“I don’t think either one of them needs the money,” White said, suggesting the money go to a charitable organization.
White did not conjecture whether the fight would really take place. “If these guys are serious, I make fights that people want to see,” he said. “That’s what I do for a living.”
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
