Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg are two of the richest men in the world, and each run some of the largest social media companies in the world. They may also be fated to face off against each other in a cage match.
You read that right.
Over the last few months, the saga of the Musk-Zuckerberg cage match has gone from a joking tweet to something with actual legitimacy, a surreal scenario where two men with a combined net worth of around $330 billion — which would place them in the top 50 economies in the world — would physically clobber each other.
It’s the culmination of an increasingly bitter rivalry between the two social media, which culminated with Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, launched a copycat version of X (formerly Twitter), which Musk owns along with running Tesla and Space X. But this is a rivalry taken to an extreme in what would be an unprecedented airing out of grievances. Even for two Silicon Valley titans who are known for shaking up the status quo and corporate norms, this is next level.
Here’s everything you need to know about the proposed cage match.
How did it start?
Musk actually posed the idea of a cage match in a tweet in response to reports that Meta was preparing its own version of X called Threads.
It appeared to be a joke, but Zuckerberg took it seriously. In an Instagram post, the Meta CEO sent a screenshot of the tweet and superimposed the words “Send Me Location.”
The response came after weeks of Musk taunting Zuckerberg on Twitter. It appeared as if Zuck had enough.
A few weeks later, Threads launched and immediately drew in tens of millions of users – presumably many fleeing X. Musk probably wasn’t feeling too good himself after that.
Is this thing really happening?
That’s an excellent question. So far, neither side have come to an agreement on details like location or logistics. But both keep talking about the fight and Musk has even teased a site for the match.
Okay, so where is this supposed to happen?
Musk said that he spoke to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and the nation’s minister of culture about a match, and teased that “everything in camera frame will be ancient Rome, so nothing modern at all.”
There was talk about holding the match at the Coliseum, but that was ruled out.
Any other details?
Musk said the fight would be managed by his and Zuckerberg’s foundations, and not the UFC. He said the proceeds would go to veterans.
Zuckerberg, however, said he would want the fight to put a spotlight on elite athletes, which means working with a professional organization like the UFC or One, which is the world’s largest martial arts organization.
How is the UFC involved?
UFC President Dana White said he would be willing to promote the right, and said on the Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson podcast that this fight would gross a billion dollars in revenue.
“Who doesn’t want to see that fight? That’s the kind of fight your f**** grandmother would watch,” he said, according to MMA Fighting.
Alas, Musk doesn’t seem to want the UFC involved.
Can we really believe all of this?
That’s smart to ask. Musk has been known to use his extremely large bullhorn known as X to troll the masses. At one point, he joked that he would pull off “The Walrus,” a move where he would just lie on top of his opponent.
While Zuckerberg confirmed he’s still up for the fight, he warned people to not get stuck with the details.
“I love this sport and I’ve been ready to fight since the day Elon challenged me. If he ever agrees on an actual date, you’ll hear it from me. Until then, please assume anything he says has not been agreed on,” he said in a post on Threads.
Who would win?
That’s what makes this cage match so potentially intriguing. From a size perspective, Musk, 52, has a big advantage. He’s listed at 6’2” and says he weighs over 300 lbs.
The 39-year-old Zuckerberg, meanwhile, weighs 155 lbs and only stands at 5’7”.
So that’s a big edge for Musk, right?
Not so fast. Zuckerberg is younger and actively trains. He has a blue belt in Jiu-Jitsu. He was at a UFC Fight Night event this month (although his wife doesn’t seem to appreciate it).
Zuck installed a fighting cage in his garden (again, his wife wasn’t happy) and shared it with his 12.3 million followers. He also trained with UFC fighter Gilbert Burns. He also posted a photo of himself with middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski at a gym.
White said both men had their advantages.
“Zuckerberg takes this s*** very seriously,” he said on the podcast. “He is a huge UFC fan. He trains. He’s an MMA fan… But Elon grew up doing judo. He’s a legit judo guy.”
Isn’t this just a distraction from the problems both social media companies are facing? Like a cratering ad market and more government regulation?
Shush. We all want to see blood.
Okay, okay. So what’s next?
We’re all waiting on pins and needles for the next update, and whether the two men can come to an agreement. For now, it feels like they’re throwing blows from the safety of their own corners (sorry for the mixed metaphor).
We’ll see if they can ever come to an agreement, because it would be the match of a lifetime.