UFC president Dana White appears to be taking the potential fight between Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg very seriously, and he already has a tentative date in mind for this high-profile clash of billionaires.
What started as a social media challenge between Musk, the owner of Twitter, and Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, has escalated into a full-blown spectacle, with reports indicating that both tech moguls are genuinely interested in stepping into the ring.
Zuckerberg has embraced Brazilian jiu-jitsu, training under Dave Camarillo and even participating in grappling competitions. On the other hand, Musk has recently been seen training with UFC legend Georges St-Pierre and his grappling coach, John Danaher.
White has confirmed that he has had discussions with both Musk and Zuckerberg regarding the fight, and the UFC even went as far as selling t-shirts hyping the anticipated matchup on their official store.
Although White has not disclosed the exact date yet, he has a specific timeline in mind for the highly anticipated clash between Musk and Zuckerberg.
“100 percent [they want to fight in the UFC],” White told TSN on Thursday. “I do [have a date in mind], I’ll announce it when we’re ready. It won’t be UFC 300.”
UFC 300, which is expected to take place in Las Vegas in early 2024, will serve as one of the marquee cards for the organization next year.
As far as any potential hurdles to clear, including Musk having a significant size advantage over Zuckerberg, White doesn’t seem all that concerned. The same goes for sanctioning the fight. Despite Musk, 51, and Zuckerberg, 39, having no prior combat sports experience, White knows that money talks – and that matchup would earn astronomical profits, benefitting the city and state where it happens.
“Whoever says no, every other state and country will say yes,” White said with confidence. “A billion dollars in revenue, this fight.”