"Send me location", said Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg after he was challenged by tech billionaire Elon Musk to a "cage match". To common ears, it may sound like just an acceptance or a friendly online banter for a combat challenge. However, for eagle-eyed mixed martial arts (MMA) fans, these were the exact words uttered by former UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov who accepted the challenge of 'The Notorious' Conor McGregor. Churned out in his unrefined English, the Russian fighter's "send me location" went on to become immortalised as a catchphrase to accept the combat challenge in the world of MMA.
Now, for Zuckerberg to say those exact same words to accept the "cage match" challenge offered by Musk only propelled the intent of the youngest billionaire.
Why Musk Asked For A Fight
Musk, who bought Twitter in October last year, has been introducing several changes to the microblogging platform ever since. In a short span of time, Twitter has undergone quite a transformation, both in terms of appearance and business. The rapid changes to Twitter's ecosystem irked many, leading to a sudden boom for other social media platforms. In the midst of all of this, the rumours were high about Meta launching a lookalike rival, before it actually came out with Threads on July 6.
Responding to the buzz, Musk took to Twitter and wrote that the launch of another platform would eventually put the Earth "exclusively under Zuck's thumb with no other options".
One Twitter user responded to Musk's Zuck-zinger, writing: "Better be careful @elonmusk I heard he does the jujitsu now."
Musk, in turn, tweeted: "I'm up for a cage match if he is lol."
Zuckerberg Accepts Challenge
One could assume that Musk was throwing out the cage match challenge in jest, but Zuckerberg responded via an Instagram Story saying the three epic words: "Send Me Location."
Things Heating Up
UFC president Dana White claims to have had discussions with both Musk and Zuckerberg regarding their willingness to participate in a fight.
"Both guys are absolutely serious about this," he stated during an interview to TMZ Live.
White has been in regular communication with the two billionaires, and plans for the event are reportedly being developed, as reported by the New York Times.
In an interview to NYT, White revealed that the fight would be an exhibition match held outside the official jurisdiction of the UFC, potentially featuring a charitable component.
According to White, "It will be the biggest fight in the history of combat sports."
Colosseum Proposal
Elon Musk ignited excitement among Gladiator fans when he suggested that the fight could take place in the historic Colosseum in Rome.
"Some chance fight happens in the Colosseum," he tweeted.
However, the Italian Ministry of Culture refuted a report by TMS Sports, stating that there had been no official contact, despite the enticing nature of the news.
The ministry further clarified: "If Zuckerberg and Musk wished to perform in the Colosseum, they would need to organize a non-violent challenge."
Prep Ahead Of The Battle
Showing intent that the callout and the challenge accepted were not taken in jest, Musk recently engaged in a training session alongside former UFC champion Georges St-Pierre as he prepares for a potential fight against Zuckerberg.
During his first training session with St-Pierre, Musk was joined by Lex Fridman. John Danaher, a highly esteemed Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu coach who has trained numerous world champions, also participated in the session.
Excited about the experience, Fridman took to Twitter and shared: "Had a great training session with Elon Musk, Georges St-Pierre, and John Danaher last night. Everything about this was epic!"
Musk responded to the tweet, expressing how he enjoyed the session and humorously acknowledging the need for more training. "Really fun! The obvious conclusion is that I need a lot more training," he posted.
While Musk continues to prepare for the potential fight, it's worth noting that Zuckerberg holds an advantage in terms of experience. The Facebook founder has taken up jiu-jitsu and even achieved gold and silver medals in his first-ever tournament.
Earlier, on June 25, Lex Fridman had posted a video of training with Zuckerberg as well.
Threads Launch
As things are still rallying and it looks like that there can be a potential fight, to the extent of an exhibition match, between the billionaires, Meta went ahead with the launch of Threads, the alleged Twitter lookalike, on July 6. Since the launch of Thread, it has become the fastest-growing social media platform in terms of downloads and onboarding of users.
It is not that Elon Musk and his team have remained quiet after the launch.
Twitter has issued a warning to Meta threatening to sue the company over alleged misappropriation of trade secrets, infringement of intellectual property (IP), and data scraping.
Elon Musk's lawyer, Alex Spiro, has relayed the message to Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta. In response to the news, Musk expressed his views, stating, "Competition is fine, cheating is not." This suggests that whether the in-ring action promised by the two happens or not, a significant legal battle could be imminent for sure.