The Mark Zuckerberg vs. Elon Musk fight was once one of the most talked-about potential matchups that could happen in combat sports. Despite the insane nature of the matchup, the negotiations appeared serious, with UFC CEO Dana White being attached as promoter. They even produced ‘Zuckerberg vs. Musk’ T-shirts. However, despite all the hype surrounding the bout, the fight fizzled out before ever materializing. And according to White, it had much to do with the venue and their $150 million asking price.

“It’s impossible! Because I was negotiating with Zuckerberg and Musk,” White said at UFC Vegas 119 post-fight presser. “That was real. I was literally in my backyard for two weeks negotiating that fight, and they wanted the Colosseum. The Colosseum wanted something like $150 million to do it there. That money would go into a fund that restores all the iconic places in Italy. The Colosseum was willing to host Zuckerberg fighting Musk. Those two were going to put up the money for the Colosseum.”

Reporting from the time gives a mixed picture of how far the negotiations actually progressed. According to a TMZ report published in 2023, an official from Italy’s Culture Ministry had reportedly contacted Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg regarding the potential fight. However, a subsequent report from an Italian media outlet quickly pushed back on those claims.

According to Corriere della Sera, staff members from Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano’s office stated that there had been no “formal contact” between the ministry and the billionaires involved in the proposed clash. That report did note, however, that any event would need to be framed as “non-violent” and would require a “substantial contribution” toward restoring Italy’s historical regions, specifically mentioning Emilia-Romagna, though the report made no reference to White’s $150 million figure.

On the other hand, the BBC published another report in 2023 stating that Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano had extensive discussions with Elon Musk regarding the possibility of staging a historic event in Italy. But according to the report, officials reportedly ruled out hosting the event in Rome itself. However, the report indicated a “substantial amount” of proceeds would have gone to two children’s hospitals.

In that case, it may not be a stretch to say that Dana White was genuinely close to pulling off one of the most fascinating events imaginable at one of the world’s most iconic landmarks. However, after failing to make the matchup happen, would White actually be interested in revisiting it if the opportunity ever presents itself?

“Anybody who wants to put up the money for a UFC fight in the Colosseum, I’m in,” White added.

Now, while Dana White appeared serious about making the fight happen, there was another constraint that marred the match-up. Mark Zuckerberg claimed that the Tesla owner never truly had any intention of stepping inside a cage and fighting him.

Mark Zuckerberg implied that Elon Musk was never serious about fighting him

Other than running companies worth billions of dollars, Mark Zuckerberg is also a Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner. Over the years, he has participated in competitions and also trained with several UFC stars, including Alexander Volkanovski, Merab Dvalishvili, and Israel Adesanya. So, while talks surrounding a potential clash against Elon Musk continued to circulate without materializing, Zuckerberg took to social media and suggested that Musk was never serious about fighting him.

“I think we can all agree Elon isn’t serious, and it’s time to move on,” Zuckerberg wrote on Instagram. “I offered a real date. Dana White offered to make this a legit competition for charity. Elon won’t confirm a date, then says he needs surgery, and now asks to do a practice round in my backyard instead.

“If Elon ever gets serious about a real date and official event, he knows how to reach me. Otherwise, time to move on. I’m going to focus on competing with people who take the sport seriously.”

Following that, Elon Musk reportedly responded to Zuckerberg by calling him a “chicken.” Well, other than the fascination of seeing two billionaires potentially settle their differences inside a cage, the growing animosity between them also made the matchup even more entertaining.

With so much time having passed since the initial discussions, it appears increasingly unlikely that the clash will ever take place at any venue whatsoever.