UFC champion Alexander Volkanovski has talked up Mark Zuckerberg’s MMA s𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁s ahead of a potential mega-fight against his billionaire social media rival Elon Musk.
Volkanovski, who recently defended his belt against Yair Rodriguez in the main event of UFC 290, had very positive things to say about his Meta boss friend, who he recently spent time training with in the States.
The internet started buzzing in early July when photos emerged of an incredibly ripped looking Zuckerberg after training with Volkanovski and middleweight champion Israel Adesanya at a gym in Lake Tahoe, Nevada.
The series of shots showed the three men wearing training shorts, dripping with sweat while standing on mats, and Zuckerberg with his wrists taped.
‘No fugazi with Mark,’ shared Adesanya on Instagram along with an emoji of a shark. ‘This is Serious Business!!’
Alex Volkanovski says he is impressed by Mark Zuckerberg’s MMA s𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁s and fitness
Volkanovski says the Meta boss is very active and trains every morning
Zuckerberg commented the post by stating that ‘it’s an honor to train with you guys!’ as he gets himself in shape for his fight against Musk, who he’s been embroiled in a spat with since the launch of Threads – a new competitor to Twitter – earlier this month.
‘I’ve been over his house a couple of times. His place is amazing – right on the water,’ Volkanovski told the The Kyle and Jackie O Show on Wednesday morning.
‘He’s very, very active. I don’t know if you saw the photos of me, him and Israel Adesanya training together. He’s ripped. He’s actually lean and he’s very fit.’
When asked by Kyle Sandilands about who would win in an MMA fight between the billionaires, Volkanovski talked up Zuckerberg’s chances.
‘Elon’s bigger, but Zuck actually trains,’ said the featherweight champ.
‘He trains every morning. Both days we were there we were training for two hours in the morning – so he takes it seriously. He’s a blue belt.’
When questioned about what sort of a guy the Meta boss is, Volkanovski said he gets asked that question a lot.
‘He’s obviously pretty private,’ he said. ‘People ask me that. They ask, “Is he a robot?” No, he’s a friendly dude, we get along – we have dinner, have a couple of red wines.’
Volkanovski said he’s been to the billionaire’s house a couple of times and he’s very friendly
The UFC champ said Priscilla Chan – Zuckerberg’s wife – objected to him wanting to mix Coke Zero with expensive bourbon
Jackie O wanted to know if the wine was worth a lot of money and Volkanovski divulged that they’d shared ‘really expensive’ bourbon.
The champ then admitted that he really only liked the taste of the spirit when a bit of Coke Zero is added to it – but Zuckerberg’s wife was appalled at the idea he’d mix the two.
‘Priscilla, his wife, is looking at me and said, “Don’t you dare put anything with that!”‘ Volkanovski recounted while smiling.
A confirmation and official date for the much-hyped bout between Musk and Zuckerberg have yet to be revealed.
In July, Musk admitted that he need ‘a lot more training’ after a few gruelling sessions with Georges St. Pierre, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest fighters in MMA history.
The 52-year-old posed for a photo alongside GSP, popular American podcast host and combat expert Lex Fridman, and martial arts instructor John Danaher as he gets himself in shape ahead his predicted $25million pay-per-view purchase fight with ‘Zuck.’
Elon Musk (R) had a grueling training session with Georges St Pierre (red shorts) earlier in July
GSP also shared the same image, joking at the wealth of knowledge displayed in the pic, tweeting: ‘Great training session with 3 men that I really admire. Combined IQ in this photo is 1000. « Not including me »’
‘Really fun! The obvious conclusion is that I need a *lot* more training,’ Musk replied for his part on Twitter.
