Jump To
In the latest chapter of the Zuckerberg-Musk combat sports saga (I literally cringed typing that out), Maye Musk, the mother of infamous billionaire Elon Musk, has tweeted out that the proposed “cage match” between her son and his rival, Facebook founder and fellow billionaire, Mark Zuckerberg has been canceled. Her quips would net thousands of replies and likes, but only drew an emoji response from Elon, who has continued on with his plans to face off with Meta Mark in a cage.
The tweets from Mama Musk come across as light-hearted, but at the core of them, I’d imagine she’s worried for her son’s safety. Elon has made claims that he’s trained in judo, Kyoskushin karate and even jiu-jitsu “briefly.” The thing is, he also stated that this was in his youth. How much time has passed since then is anyone’s guess.
Mama said shut your mouth, Elon Musk didn’t say a word
Here’s a look at the tweets:
“And now the fight has been canceled. Great relief! 🤗”
“Actually, I canceled the fight. I haven’t told them yet. But I will continue to say the fight is canceled, just in case…🤨”
“Don’t encourage this match! 😠😠”
“No joking. Fight with words only. In armchairs. 4 feet apart. The funniest person wins.🤗😂”
Elon Musk has Endeavor tie-ins
Ever since this ludicrous “fight” was agreed to, Dana White has positively foamed at the mouth to get in on the action. These are two of the wealthiest men in the world. They do not need a promoter. They can finance this farce without blinking an eye, but of course the UFC would want in on easy money. The UFC president told TMZ he would charge $100 for the PPV and added,
“I don’t think either of them need any money. I don’t think it would be a money thing for either one of them. They both talked about how much they could raise for charity, it would be a massive number. They could both pick a charity that they both care about, crazy money.”
Elon Musk has tie-ins with UFC parent company Endeavor thanks to a nomination by the board for Musk to become one of its 11 directors. To add further to the link between the two, it was revealed recently that Endeavor chief, Ari Emanuel, acquired a stake in Twitter.
White has notoriously said recently that the UFC doesn’t do gimmick fights, “That’s just not what we do here.” But one need only look to the past history of the company to find several examples of very gimmicky promotion:
- Randy Couture vs. James Toney
- Mickey Gall vs. CM Punk
- Mike Jackson vs. CM Punk
- Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather, Jr. (co-promoted)
- The BMF title
- Elon Musk vs. Mark Zuckerberg (??)
The above examples would absolutely pale in comparison on the gimmick scale to a UFC-promoted bout featuring two novice billionaires. Sure, the PPV numbers would likely be through the roof, but that doesn’t make it any less a gimmick fight. The two ideas aren’t mutually exclusive. They can exist in the same space.
I am reminded of Jeff Goldblum’s famous line in Jurassic Park. “They were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.” From a business standpoint, it’s obvious why the UFC would attach themselves like a tick on a fat dog to this proposed “fight,” but I can’t help but be a little repulsed by how grimy it comes across. I’m curious to know how much the UFC will be donating to charity.
Call to action
You know you can count on us for quick, consistent quality UFC coverage. Bloody Elbow is an independent, reader supported publication. Please subscribe to our newsletter to keep up with our best work and learn how you can support the site. Please subscribe to our podcast Substack, as well. We’re constantly refining to try and provide our readers and listeners with the best, most current MMA news and opinions.
Follow us as @BloodyElbow on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and at BloodyElbow.Substack.com & BloodyElbowPodcast.Substack.com.
About the author
