Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is a man of many talents, most notably for being the driving force behind Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
However, in recent years, he’s also been increasing his presence in the world of combat sports.
UFC lightweight Paddy Pimblett previously called out Zuckerberg in Mar. 2022 following a win.
Zuckerberg revealed in an appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast last August that he had been training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ).
A month later, he surprised fans by sharing a clip of him training in mixed martial arts with Khai Wu. He was also present at UFC Vegas 61 to support Mackenzie Dern’s headlining bout with Xiaonan Yan.
Most recently, Zuckerberg competed in a BJJ competition and won a gold medal. Joe Rogan, a well-known comedian, podcaster, and martial artist, lauded Zuckerberg for his achievement and compared him to British superstar Tom Hardy, who also competed in combat sports. Rogan expressed his admiration for Zuckerberg’s win in the BJJ competition.
Rogan discussed it on an episode of his podcast featuring Kim Congdon and Sara Weinshenk.
“Mark Zuckerberg won a gold medal in a Brazilian jiu-jitsu competition,” said Rogan. “He’s been training jiu-jitsu. This is what he did, he wore a COVID mask and he put a hat on and he hid and he used an alias.”
“Imagine you’re right about to compete and it’s maybe your first competition like just give it a try. I mean what’s the worst thing that could happen? The worst thing that could happen is you get strangled by a super nerd in front of the whole world. I’m very proud of him. I think it’s amazing that he did that.”
Rogan Compares Zuckerberg to Tom Hardy Rogan also drew a comparison between Zuckerberg and Tom Hardy, two successful people in unrelated fields who chose to test themselves out in combat sports.
“A few people did that. Tom Hardy did that a couple of times… He’s got gold medal. Dude’s f**king jacked strangling fools as a blue belt. By the time you get to blue belt, you’re dealing with people that know how to submit people.”
“It’s just whether or not they can keep it together smoothly and there’s various levels of that. When you get to tournaments you get like a lot of levels where they really should be a purple belt. They’re really purple belt level. Some instructors are stingy.”
“So for him to win blue belt, it’s very possible he had real skilled opposition, not like black belt opposition but they know how to do sh*t.”
Zuckerberg’s company is pivoting away from the Metaverse pivot. UFC recently announced a new partnership.
The UFC has partnered with the experiential event company, CoSM, to bring live immersive Pay-Per-View events to new venues. CoSM specializes in creating unique event experiences through interactive installations, art exhibitions, and immersive technology. This partnership will allow the UFC to offer fans a new level of engagement and entertainment at live events.