Mark Zuckerberg vs Elon Musk MMA cage fight heats up: What has happened so far

It was in late June when Twitter and SpaceX head honcho Elon Musk challenged his fellow tech-billionaire and competitor Mark Zuckerberg to a cage fight. Judging from Musk’s juvenile sense of humour, this could have been just another joke. But judging from Musk’s over-the-top media image, it is also highly likely that he very well wanted the cage fight to actually happen.

Now, after Zuckerberg’s Meta-owned Instagram launched its Twitter stand-in Threads in July, matters have gotten personal. Musk is very serious about fighting “lizard boy” and “cuck zuck”. Here’s a detailed breakdown of the buildup to this upcoming cage fight. 

June 21: How did the fight start? 

When entrepreneur and Twitter user Marion Nafwal fired shots at Meta for copying Twitter in developing Threads, Musk joined the Twitter conversation sarcastically commenting on how even the Earth can’t wait to be under “Zuck’s thumb”. 

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Another Twitter user laughingly remarked on how Musk shouldn’t be on Zuckerberg’s wrong side as the Meta founder has been learning jiu-jiutsu.

Fragile egos were hurt and a proclamation for a full-blown cage fight was adequately made. 

June 26: Musk begins training

According to a series of viral photos by podcaster and MIT research scientist Lex Fridman, Musk had already begun his training. Sparring with Fridman, Musk apparently showed his “strength, power and skill” in an impromptu training session. 

Fridman did mention that he would personally want both Musk and Zuck to train and promote martial arts instead of indulging in a cage match. With that being said, he added “as Elon says, the most entertaining outcome is the most likely”.

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June 30: Colosseum offered as a potential venue?

With increased buzz, even Italy wants to cash in on the modern-day gladiator match! As per reports, Italian Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano reached out to Zuck, offering to host the fight at the 2,000-year-old Colosseum, the ancient Roman monument that is very much synonymous with Rome (and Italy as a whole). 

ALSO READ: Italian government offers the Colosseum as venue for Musk vs Zuck showdown

Regardless of whether Musk and Zuck fight like gladiators, one thing is for certain that people will be entertained. So, nobody has to scream out “are you not entertained?” like Russell Crowe’s hero in Gladiator. 

July 4: Musk begins training with MMA legend Georges St-Pierre

Musk was spotted with actor and ex-mixed martial arts fighter Georges St-Pierre. The Canadian will probably give him a crash course in MMA based on his own stellar experience in the UFC before. However, Musk and St-Pierre both have not revealed much about their association.

Lex Fridman, who was again found sparring with Musk, shared a photo of his training session with the Twitter CEO and the MMA fighter. St-Pierre is a three-time UFC Champion in the welterweight category (71-77 kgs). 

July 9: Musk calls Zuck a “cuck” 

With Threads launching on July 6, the app managed to receive 100 million downloads within five days. Zuckerberg took to Threads to express his happiness. Meanwhile, Twitter’s resident “Chief Twit” was naturally annoyed as is evident from Musk’s July 9 tweet that simply said, “Zuck is a cuck.”

Media buzz around their fight naturally began to increase even before with Musk calling Zuckerberg a cuckold. He is also attempting to file lawsuits against Meta, having sent a letter to Zuckerberg via his Twitter lawyer Alex Spiro. In the letter, Musk accused the corporation of "systematic, willful, and unlawful misappropriation of Twitter's trade secrets and other intellectual property".

July 12: Musk also starts training with UFC fighters

It seems like both Zuckerberg and Musk are gearing up for a gnarly UFC-level fight much like how even social media influencers like Logan Paul have dabbled in. Zuckerberg has publicly shared his association with martial artists and jiu-jitsu practitioners but now, even he could be spotted with MMA fighters. 

Posing bare-chested on a training pad, Zuckerberg stood next to his accomplished new trainers: Israel Adesanya and Alexander Volkanovski. The former is a Nigerian and New Zealand boxer, kickboxer and mixed martial artist having won titles in all three disciplines. As for Volkanovski, he is an Australian MMA fighter who is currently the UFC’s Featherweight Champion (mostly within 65.8 kgs). 

Who will win?

Going by Zuckerberg’s Instagram, he won his first jiu-jitsu tournament in May. He has since then been training in jiu-jitsu further with the sports champion Mikey Musumeci.

While Musk doesn’t have any such credits before the cage fight was announced, he has revealed on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast that he had been training in martial arts like taekwondo even though he was not that regular. 

While Musk seems to have the upper strength to overpower a shorter Zuckerberg, the Meta founder can be more agile depending upon his lean physique. Now, with both training under MMA champions, the “muskrat” and “lizard” are bound to engage in an intense bout.

No details have been offered regarding the date and venue of this ego contest (but we will be keeping our eyes peeled)