For billionaires about to tussle, we salute you!
Rome’s famous Colosseum — the site of of gladiator battles and Christians being tossed to lions — may serve as the arena for the much-hyped “cage match” between moguls Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg.
Italy’s minister of culture Gennaro Sangiuliano contacted Zuckerberg about the possibility of holding the bout at the iconic ruin, TMZ reported, citing sources with direct knowledge of the matter.
Zuckerberg’s team reportedly passed the idea along to UFC President Dana White, who is said to be in touch with Italian officials.
Sources told TMZ that “both Elon and Mark would love for the fight to go down at the Colosseum.”
Musk teased the possibility in a tweet early Friday, stating that there was “some chance fight happens in Colosseum.”
The Twitter owner shared a clip of the Colosseum fight scene from Monty Python’s “Life of Brian,” joking that he needs “to work on my endurance.”
Talks of a showdown between the tech tycoons have progressed quickly in the days since the 52-year-old Twitter owner challenged the 39-year-old Facebook founder to a “cage match.”
Zuckerberg, an MMA superfan who recently won his first amateur Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournament, immediately accepted by asking Musk to send him a location.
The Post has reached out to Meta for comment.
While there’s been healthy skepticism about whether Zuckerberg and Musk would actually fight each other, the two seem serious about the idea.
The sources said that both executives are “all in” about staging an event and have been in regular communication with White about the possible logistics.
Musk has a significant size advantage, standing 6-foot-2 and weighing an estimated 230 pounds compared to Zuckerberg’s 5-foot-7 and 145 pounds — a factor that could complicate venue selection.
For example, the Nevada Athletic Commission would have to approve a bout held in Las Vegas at UFC’s Apex Arena, as Musk had originally suggested.
Musk made his fight challenge in response to reports that Zuckerberg’s Meta plans to launch a text-based competitor to Twitter — with one executive claiming that it would be “sanely run” compared to the more well-established bird app.
Musk has already begun preparations for a possible throwdown, participating in an “impromptu training session” with podcaster and AI researcher Lex Fridman, who tweeted that he was “extremely impressed with [Musk’s] strength, power and skill, on the feet and on the ground.”
Last year, Musk shared a photo of himself in the ring against a sumo wrestler.
Musk has also accepted an offer by UFC legend Georges St-Pierre to train him, while MMA legend Jon “Bones” Jones has offered to train Zuckerberg.
You already know I am Team Zuck…. Let me know if you need a training partner!” Jones tweeted earlier this month.
A match could resolve lingering tension between Zuckerberg and Musk, who have privately taken potshots at each other for years, according to a recent Wall Street Journal report.
Not everyone is thrilled with the idea of a Musk-Zuckerberg fight. Musk’s father, Errol, told The Sun that the match would be a “no-win situation” for Elon, who would be seen as a “bully” if he won due to his size advantage.
“I think Elon has got himself into a difficult situation as a result of high school behavior. They both have,” Errol Musk said.
Elsewhere, Musk’s mother, supermodel Maye Musk, has repeatedly urged him to give up the idea.
[Written in collaboration with other media outlets with information from the following sources]
