In context: The will-they-won't-they cage match between Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg to decide which billionaire is tougher doesn't appear to be happening after the Meta boss told employees he's not sure if it's going to come together. Speculation that the two were preparing to face each other in a bout has been around for weeks, but it seems Musk is going to escape a pounding.
The Musk v. Zuckerberg fight has been making headlines for a while now. It began with Musk's June 21 post in which he declared being "Up for a cage match" with Zuck if the Meta boss felt the same way. Zuckerberg's response was an Instagram post reading, "Send Me Location," a reference to former UFC champ Khabib Nurmagomedov and his feud with Conor McGregor.
But the fight now seems unlikely to take place. According to exclusive audio heard by Reuters in a recording provided to the publication, Zuckerberg told employees at a company town hall that he's "not sure if it's going to come together."
While that's not an absolute no, it does sound as if The Lizard vs. The Baby Billionaire cage match isn't going to happen.
39-year-old Zuckerberg was recently promoted to blue belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and has been training in the martial art and MMA since the Covid lockdowns – he now trains up to three to four times per week.
Months before Musk challenged him to a fight, Zuckerberg posted a video of him sparring with fighter Khai Wu. In May, he posted images of him competing in his first jiu-jitsu tournament, where he won silver and gold medals.
52-year-old Musk, who once challenged Vladimir Putin to unarmed combat to decide the future of Ukraine, once said on the Joe Rogan show that he trained in Kyokushin karate, taekwondo, and judo when he was a kid. He seemed less serious about the fight than Zuckerberg, tweeting that he had a great move called The Walrus that involves lying on top of an opponent and doing nothing. He did, however, accept a training offer from UFC legend Georges St-Pierre and sparred with podcaster Lex Fridman, the latter of whom said he was impressed by Musk's strength, power, and skill.
I did an impromptu training session with @elonmusk for a few hours yesterday. I'm extremely impressed with his strength, power, and skill, on the feet and on the ground. It was epic. It's really inspiring to see Elon and Mark doing martial arts, but I think the world is served… pic.twitter.com/cq00A9Xnmw
– Lex Fridman (@lexfridman) June 27, 2023
A battle between the two did look like it would happen in June when UFC boss Dana White told TMZ that he'd been in talks with Zuckerberg and Musk and that "both guys are absolutely dead serious about this."
Unless things change, it does seem that the answer of who would win in a fight between Musk and Zuckerberg will remain theoretical, even though it would be Zuckerberg, obviously.
https://www.techspot.com/news/99596-mark-zuckerberg-cage-fight-elon-musk-unlikely-happen.html
