“Send me location,” Zuckerberg wrote on a Wednesday night Instagram story, which showed a screenshot of Musk’s tweet alongside another user’s response urging the Twitter owner to “start training”.
Zuckerberg is actually trained in mixed martial arts. The Facebook founder posted about completing his first jiu-jitsu tournament last month.
In response to Zuckerberg’s location request on Wednesday, Musk proposed the Vegas Octagon. He then joked about his fighting skills and workout routine, suggesting that the fight may not be serious.
“I have this great move that I call ‘The Walrus’, where I just lie on top of my opponent and do nothing,” Musk wrote.
Meanwhile, UFC President Dana White told TMZ Sports he spoke to both billionaires and said that “both guys are absolutely dead serious about this”.
When asked why he felt that way, White said “they both said, ‘Yeah, we’ll do it’. They both want to do it.”
Whether or not Musk and Zuckerberg actually make it to the ring has yet to be seen - especially as Musk often tweets about action prematurely or without following through. But, even if their cage match agreement is all a joke, the banter gained attention. An endless chain of memes and posts to “choose your fighter” have sprung up in response.
“The story speaks for itself,” a Meta spokesperson said in a statement to The Associated Press. Zuckerberg has not commented further.
Despite the uncertainty of a cage match actually happening, bids are already being placed for a projected winner. DraftKings’ projected odds stood at 140+ for Musk and -160 for Zuckerberg on Thursday.
The Associated Press also contacted the Ultimate Fighting Championship, which owns the Octagon, and Twitter for statements. Twitter’s press email responded with a poop emoji, its standard automated response to reporters.
