--- title: "Elon and Zuck “Absolutely Dead Serious” About Cage Fighting, UFC Boss Confirms" description: "According to comments from UFC president Dana White, it looks like an Elon Musk vs. Mark Zuckerberg cage fight might actually be happening." date: "2023-06-23" modified: "2023-06-23" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/ufc-elon-musk-zuckerberg-cage-fighting" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "billionaires" - "elon musk" - "mark zuckerberg" - "the digest" --- # Elon and Zuck “Absolutely Dead Serious” About Cage Fighting, UFC Boss Confirms ![According to comments from UFC president Dana White, it looks like an Elon Musk vs. Mark Zuckerberg cage fight might actually be happening.]() *\Image: Chesnot/Getty Images\* ## On Like Donkey Kong Two of the world's richest, most powerful tech billionaires, SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Meta-formerly-Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, have [both publicly claimed]() that they're willing to fight each other in an MMA-style "cage match." And, as it turns out, they're extremely serious about punching each other in the face. UFC president Dana White [confirmed to *TMZ* in an interview]() that he's spoken to Musk and Zuckerberg, and that "both guys are absolutely dead serious" about taking to the UFC's Vegas Octogon for hand-to-hand combat. "They both said, 'Yeah, we’ll do it.' They both want to do it," White told *TMZ*. "Mark hit me up first and said, 'Is \[Elon\] serious?' And I said, 'I don't know, let me ask him.' I asked him, and he said, 'Yeah, I'm dead serious.'" https://twitter.com/sambladeco/status/1671960275074027520?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1671960275074027520%7Ctwgr%5E2a2c545c51aeb5fbe411b25eca342387c4c4799f%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.si.com%2Fextra-mustard%2F2023%2F06%2F23%2Fdana-white-says-elon-musk-mark-zuckerberg-are-absolutely-dead-serious-about-cage-match ## Boss Blessing Unsurprisingly, White is absolutely thrilled about the idea. "This would be the biggest fight ever in the history of the world, bigger than anything that's ever been done," the UFC boss told *TMZ*. "It would break all pay-per-view records. These guys would raise hundreds of millions of dollars for charity." "You don't have to be a fight fan to be interested in this fight," he added. "Everybody would want to see it." Nobody really knows what this match will look like. Will they follow the UFC's "Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts?" Will you be able to watch the fight on a Meta Quest headset? Instead of fireworks, will SpaceX just [blow up a Starship rocket]() over the city of Las Vegas? ## Who You Got? As for [who might actually win](), expert and public opinions are still pretty mixed, although Twitter users certainly have their predictions. "Musk is 100 percent saying stuff then backing out (it is his thing)," [tweeted]() *Bloody Elbows* writer Phil Mackenzie, presumably referring to [Musk's failed attempts]() to back out of his abrupt Twitter purchase, "but Zuck trains, is driven by the desperation of Facebook slowly collapsing, is a decade younger, and doesn't look like he's made out of melting ice cream." "Musk vs. Zuck," [quipped]() *Bloomberg* reporter Ashlee Vance, who wrote an entire biography about Musk's life. "Whoever loses has to acquire Yahoo." **More on this whole stupid thing:** [*It's On! Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg Agree to Brutal Cage Fight*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()