At some indeterminate point in the last couple of years, mixed martial arts became the go-to sport and workout of choice among a certain type of tech bro. But as a certain Facebook mogul has just proven, it pays to be careful in your training.
Mark Zuckerberg, an avid combat sports enthusiast who holds a blue belt in jiu jitsu, sustained an injury to his ACL which required reparative surgery, putting his plans to take part in a real MMA match on hold for the time being.
“Tore my ACL sparring and just got out of surgery to replace it,” the Meta CEO wrote on Instagram, sharing a carousel of images of himself in his hospital bed being tended to by wife Priscilla Chan. “Grateful for the doctors and team taking care of me.”
“I was training for a competitive MMA fight early next year, but now that’s delayed a bit,” he added. “Still looking forward to doing it after I recover. Thanks to everyone for the love and support.”
Zuckerberg made no reference to which specific competition he was planning to enter, although he has previously posted photos from his training at Guerilla Jiu Jitsu in San Jose, as well as clips of himself sparring with professional fighters including Mike Muscemi, Israel Adesanya and Khai “The Shadow” Wu.
Sadly, this means that the proposed grudge match between Zuckerberg and rival social network owner Elon Musk is likely postponed too. Musk challenged Zuck to a cage fight in the UFC’s Venus Octagon in June of this year, throwing down a gauntlet which Zuck gamely picked right up.
At the time, UFC president Dana White confirmed that the fight was definitely happening, but Musk stopped talking quite so much smack soon after, and the rumour passed. Still, he’s probably letting out a pretty big sigh of relief right now.
Philip Ellis is News Editor at Men’s Health, covering fitness, pop culture, sex and relationships, and LGBTQ+ issues. His work has appeared in GQ, Teen Vogue, Man Repeller and MTV, and he is the author of Love & Other Scams.
