UFC CEO Dana White apparently still dreams of promoting a fight between tech billionaires Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg.
Talking to a journalist Concluding the UFC’s debut Saturday in Saudi Arabia, the UFC boss was asked which fight, if any, could generate 8 million PPV buys.
After a moment of contemplation, he gave his answer with a wry smile.
“Zuckerberg versus Musk,” he said.
Musk, the man behind Tesla, SpaceX and, most recently, X (formerly Twitter) has been feuding with Meta CEO and co-founder Zuckerberg for years.
The rivalry between the two technology moguls, who have a combined net worth of nearly $500 billion, reached a crescendo last year, when they began discussing a possible MMA fight to resolve their differences.
White, ever the opportunist, quickly got involved in the conversation and offered to promote a fight between the two billionaires for charity.
Of course, as most people predicted, the fight never happened, and before long White seemed ready to abandon the idea.
“I never say never, but [it’s] Probably not [happening]”White said in a September 2023 episode of Kick.
After Saturday, it’s clear that the fight between Musk and Zuckerberg is still something on White’s mind. It’s easy to understand why. Whether the proceeds were donated to charity or not, there is no doubt that they would generate enormous widespread interest – enough, by White’s estimate, to sell 8 million PPVs.
To put it in context, the most successful PPV in UFC history was UFC 229, which was anchored by a lightweight grudge match between champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and MMA superstar Conor McGregor. It sold just under 2.5 million PPVs.
In boxing terms, the most successful PPV on record was Floyd Mayweather’s matchup with Manny Pacquiao in 2015, which was purchased just over 4.5 million times.
Time will tell if Musk and Zuckerberg ever put on the gloves to solve their problem. If it happens, it would certainly be a great deal, but it would probably leave a lot to be desired in terms of sporting quality. While Zuckerberg has a solid background in Brazilian jiu jitsu, neither he nor Musk have any real experience in MMA, and will most likely look like amateurs when the punches and kicks start flying.