Gage JacksonJust weeks after agreeing to fight each other in a potential cage match, tech titans Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg appear to be fully invested in the chances of it actually happening.
While neither millionaire has any experience in professional combat sports, both have turned to current and former UFC champions to help refine their skills ahead of the potential bout.
Zuckerberg posted photos Tuesday night in the gym alongside UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, both of whom reportedly flew to the Facebook founder's California home following Saturday's UFC showcase in Vegas.
"No fugazi with Mark," Adesanya said in the caption, alongside a shark emoji. "This is Serious Business!!"
Zuckerberg responded in the comment section, saying "It's an honor to train with you guys!"
Zuckerberg has recently become a Brazilian jiu-jitsu enthusiast, even entering — and winning — grappling competitions. But it seems Musk has found a UFC legend of his own to join his corner.
The 53-year-old was seen earlier this month pictured alongside UFC Hall of Famer Georges St-Pierre, esteemed Brazilian jiu-jitsu instructor John Danaher, and computer scientist turned podcaster Lex Fridman.
"Great training session with 3 men I really admire," St-Pierre said in the Instagram post. "Combined IQ in this photo is 1000 — Not including me," he added along with three laughing emojis.
While there has been no shortage of reactions from the media and mixed martial arts community since fight discussions began, there's no evidence an actual fight will take place. However, UFC president Dana White has leaned into the idea of making it happen.
"I was talking to both Elon and Mark last night," he said to TMZSports last month. "Both guys are absolutely dead serious about this."
"If these guys are serious, I make fights the people want to see. That's what I do for a living," White added in the interview. "So, if they really want to do it and they're serious and we can figure it out, figure out a way to pull this off, I would absolutely, positively do this."
Shortly after, a "Zuckerberg vs Musk" event t-shirt became available for preorder on the UFC website, a potential sign the widely-speculated fight may actually happen at some point.
Considering no date for the fight has officially been set, White appeared confident that he can make it happen, even predicting it could be the biggest event ever.
"The biggest fight of all time was Floyd Mayweather and Conor [McGregor]," he said. "I think it triples that."
While a Musk-Zuckerburg bout would surely bring in an astronomical amount of money — benefiting the state and city where it's hosted — both tech moguls have said they'd donate all proceeds to charity.
