Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg cage fight could be jiu-jitsu vs ‘Walrus’

Musk has been taking pictures of Zuckerberg on social media amid reports that Meta, Facebook’s parent, is working on a social media platform to compete with Twitter, which Musk bought in October. On Tuesday, in a Twitter thread about Meta’s alleged plans, Musk appeared to agree with the suggestion that Meta has copied rival social media companies.

Another user jokingly asked Musk to “be careful” because Zuckerberg is now training in jujitsu.

Then Musk answered: “I’m ready for a cage fight if he is lol.”

A day later on Instagram, Zuckerberg posted a screenshot of Musk’s tweet, with the text: “Send me location.”

And Musk later tweeted “Vegas Octagon,” referring to the Ultimate Fighting Championship arena.

“I have this great move that I call ‘The Walrus,’ where I just lie on top of my opponent and do nothing,” Musk added.

Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Asked about Zuckerberg’s Instagram post, Meta spokeswoman Elana Widmann told The Washington Post in a statement: “History speaks for itself.”

It is far from certain whether the settlement will happen – some martial arts observers are skeptical. That didn’t stop internet users from wondering what a fight between the two billionaires might look like – and who would win. Musk’s combat experience is unclear, but in recent months Zuckerberg has shown off his physical form. In late May, he posted a photo of himself wearing a camouflage vest, and wrote that he had done 300 squats, 200 push-ups and 100 pull-ups, while wearing a 20-kilogram “weighted pack.”

Zuckerberg has also made no secret of his affinity for Brazilian jujitsu and mixed martial arts, saying on “The Joe Rogan Experience” in August 2022 that he had become interested in martial arts “over the last 12 months.”

“It really is the best sport,” Zuckerberg said. “From the very first session I did, about five minutes in, I was like, ‘Where has this been my whole life?'”

In October, Zuckerberg attended an unusual UFC event where he and his wife, Priscilla Chan, were among only a handful of spectators watching in person, while most of the seats remained empty. Zuckerberg was still ranked as a white belt when he participated in the jujitsu tournament in May where he won a gold and a silver medal. During a fight, Zuckerberg was allegedly choked unconscious at one point, which he denied in an email this month to the New York Times.

At the center of Musk’s exchange with Zuckerberg is Meta’s plan to roll out a social media platform to rival Twitter. Meta confirmed its plans to news outlets in March. This month, the Verge reported that the new app may be called Threads, and that Meta officials are touting it as a more “sensory-driven” platform than Twitter — which has seen an exodus of advertisers since Musk took over in October.

“At least it will be ‘sense,'” Musk tweeted disparagingly about Meta’s purported new platform. “Was worried there for a moment.”

Minutes later, Musk said he was going to meet Zuckerberg in the cage.

Cat Zakrzewski contributed to this report.