Meta Platforms Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg has undergone surgery for a knee injury sustained during a mixed martial arts (MMA) training session. Zuckerberg, an ardent enthusiast of MMA, took to Instagram and Facebook on Friday to announce that he was preparing for a competitive fight early next year and expressed his intention to resume training post-recovery. The injury was identified as a tear in one of his anterior cruciate ligaments.
In his post, Zuckerberg stated that he had suffered a torn Anterior Cruciate Ligament during sparring. He said that he had gotten out of a successful surgery to replace it. He expressed his gratitude for the doctors and the team that was tending to his needs. "I was training for a competitive MMA fight early next year, but now that's delayed a bit. Still looking forward to doing it after I recover. Thanks to everyone for the love and support," Zuckerberg wrote
The 39-year-old social media executive has been actively involved in MMA since last year, having participated in a tournament and even accepted a fight challenge earlier this year from tech rival Elon Musk. However, Zuckerberg eventually called off the fight. "If Elon ever gets serious about a real date and official event, he knows how to reach me," Zuckerberg wrote on Meta’s Threads microblogging site in August. "Otherwise, time to move on."
Zuckerberg frequently shares updates about his MMA hobby on various social media platforms, including photos and videos of his training sessions with professional fighters such as Israel Adesanya and Alexander Volkanovski. In September, he posted a video of himself engaging in a fight with Adesanya, Volkanovski, and others on a barge, where fighters slammed each other onto a platform and into the water.
Wall Street Journal cited an April financial filing, in which Meta allocated an annual $14 million for the personal security of Zuckerberg and his family. Quoting the filing, WSJ reported, "We require these security measures for the company’s benefit because of the importance of Mr. Zuckerberg. We believe that the scope and costs of these security programs are appropriate and necessary." Following the surgery announcement on Friday, the shares of Meta Platforms went up by 1.2% increase.