Elon Musk announces UFC will not be managing fight against Mark Zuckerberg, confirms 'epic' location after talks with Italian officials
Elon Musk has confirmed his proposed MMA fight against Mark Zuckerberg won't be managed by the UFC.
Musk and Zuckerberg sparked rumors of a potential fight against one another when they both agreed to a bout on social media back in June. Whilst fans at first thought it was just playful banter between the billionaires, the pair have since confirmed the bout will happen.
Dana White had also previously expressed his interest in the UFC helping to manage and put on the fight. Musk's latest tweet, however, appears to have ruled that out.
The Twitter/X CEO revealed that the MMA bout will infact be managed by both his and Mark Zuckerberg's foundations, and the event will be live streamed on the X and Meta platforms. Elon Musk also stated that he had spoken with officials in Italy and the fight will go ahead at a Roman Colosseum. He tweeted:
"The fight will be managed by my and Zuck’s foundations (not UFC). Livestream will be on this platform and Meta. Everything in camera frame will be ancient Rome, so nothing modern at all. I spoke to the PM of Italy and Minister of Culture. They have agreed on an epic location."
Musk also added that the event will pay respect to the European country as well as confirming that all proceeds from the fight will go directly towards helping veterans.
"Everything done will pay respect to the past and present of Italy."
"And all proceeds go to veterans."
Check out the tweets here:
Khabib Nurmagomedov turns down training Elon Musk
With a fight looming against Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk reportedly opted to ask former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov to head up his training camp.
'The Eagle', who called time on his career in 2020, had since been working with his former coach Javier Mendez at the American Kickboxing Academy. The pair have overseen the rise of fighters such as Umar Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev.
However, the Russian fighter reportedly declined the opportunity. In a report by DD Geopolitics, Nurmagomedov is believed to have turned down Musk's request because the two share fundamentally different philosophical values. They tweeted:
"He refused because he trains only his guys, whom he knows personally. It could also have a negative impact on the image of the wrestler, since he and Musk have different views on life, alcohol and drugs."