Mark Zuckerberg vs. Elon Musk has been the talk of the martial arts community for months. However, it appears the end of the line may be coming following Musk’s latest round of excuses. At least, according to Meta’s frontman himself.
Zuckerberg recently took to Threads to talk about the potential match with his fellow billionaire. The Northern California resident seemed to be over the talk after Musk continued to flake on a commitment. And the burgeoning martial arts even said he would move forward to competing against others in the future.
“I think we can all agree Elon isn’t serious and it’s time to move on. I offered a real date. Dana White offered to make this a legit competition for charity. Elon won’t confirm a date, then says he needs surgery, and now asks to do a practice round in my backyard instead. If Elon ever gets serious about a real date and official event, he knows how to reach me. Otherwise, time to move on. I’m going to focus on competing with people who take the sport seriously,” Zuckerberg wrote on Threads.
One of the sticking points seemed to be working with an organization. Zuckerberg is clear he only wants to work with a professional organization. But not just any organization. The Meta CEO only views the UFC and ONE Championship as the clear global leaders in the industry.
“Not holding my breath for Elon, but I’ll share details on my next fight when I’m ready. When I compete, I want to do it in a way that puts a spotlight on the elite athletes at the top of the game. You do that by working with professional orgs like the UFC or ONE to pull this off well and create a great card,” Zuckerberg continued.
To that end, ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong replied to Zuckerberg’s comments and was clear he was intent on helping stage the event. Along with wanting to put the bout in the most iconic combat sports venue, Rome’s Colosseum, Sityodtong proposed a massive ONE vs. UFC card. Sityodtong even suggested he compete against Dana White in the co-main event slot.
“For sure, someone is going to sleep in this fight. As I have always said, I am ready to do ONE versus UFC anytime. If Mark and Elon want to fight in the Colosseum in Italy, my team and I would love to make it happen,” Sityodtong told South China Morning Post’s Nicolas Atkin.
There is no underselling how massive a ONE vs. UFC co-promoted card could be as the global duopoly in martial arts. With Zuckerberg vs. Musk at the top of the bill, it would be a historic event. Although unlikely, at least half of the players necessary to bring this to fruition seem keen to give the fans what they desire.
