Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said Friday his potential cage fight with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg will be held at an "epic location" in Italy and won't be sanctioned by the UFC.
"The fight will be managed by my and Zuck's foundations (not UFC)," Musk said on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter. "Livestream will be on this platform and Meta. Everything in camera frame will be ancient Rome, so nothing modern at all. I spoke to the PM of Italy and Minister of Culture. They have agreed on an epic location."
The move comes as a surprise to many in the mixed martial arts community, as UFC president Dana White has previously leaned into the possibility of his organization staging the fight.
Musk, Zuckerberg train with UFC champions ahead of potential cage bout
While no official date for the fight has been set, both tech moguls appear ready to strap on the gloves and square off when the call comes.
"If these guys are serious, I make fights the people want to see. That's what I do for a living," White told TMZSports last month. "So, if they really want to do it and they're serious and we can figure it out, figure out a way to pull this off, I would absolutely, positively do this."
Shortly after the interview, a "Zuckerberg vs Musk" event T-shirt became available for preorder on the UFC website, a potential sign that the widely speculated event would eventually be set up by White.
Both Musk and Zuckerberg seemingly agreed to the fight in June, but no official date has been scheduled. Nonetheless, Musk seems confident the face-off will happen at some point, saying he has been lifting weights in preparation and both tech billionaires have turned to current and former cage fighting champions to help refine their skills ahead of the potential bout.
Musk said all proceeds from the event will be donated to veterans.
