Oh, my back!
X owner Elon Musk warned that he “may require surgery” to fix an old sumo wrestling injury — putting his possible “cage match” with Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg on hold.
Musk addressed his health status late Sunday, just hours after announcing that his grudge bout with the jiu jitsu-trained Zuckerberg would be live-streamed on the X platform and that “all proceeds will go to charity for veterans.”
“Exact date is still in flux,” Musk wrote. “I’m getting an MRI of my neck & upper back tomorrow. May require surgery before the fight can happen. Will know this week.”
When Musk revealed his live-streaming plans for the fight, Zuckerberg fired back by quipping that the pair should use a “more reliable platform that can actually raise money for charity.”
Zuckerberg, an MMA fanatic who regularly trains and competes in the sport, wrote on Threads that he is “ready today” to challenge Musk.
“I suggested Aug 26 when he first challenged, but he hasn’t confirmed. Not holding my breath,” Zuckerberg said.
“I love this sport and will continue competing with people who train no matter what happens here,” he added.
Musk, 52, has long claimed to have suffered the back injury while squaring off against a sumo wrestler, tweeting last year that he “managed to throw him, but it cost me smashing my c5-c6 disc & 8 years of mega back pain!”
Musk also alluded to the possibility that his back issues would delay a Zuckerberg fight in a July post.
“I might need an operation to strengthen the titanium plate holding my C5/C6 vertebrae together, but otherwise good to go,” Musk said at the time.
Musk and Zuckerberg have teased an upcoming mixed martial arts bout for months while feuding over the latter’s decision to launch the text-based social media app Threads, which is attempting to snag users from X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
While Musk has a significant size advantage compared to his tech rival, he may still have his work cut out for him against Zuckerberg.
The Facebook founder shocked the public while sharing a photo of his ripped physique alongside UFC champions Israel Adesanya and Alex Volkanovski.
In May, Zuckerberg entered and won his first-ever amateur Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournament.
Musk has also bragged about his own preparations for the fight, posing a photo with UFC legend Georges St. Pierre after a July sparring session and posting about lifting weights at work.
“If the fight is short, I probably win,” Musk wrote on Sunday. “If long, he may win on endurance. I am much bigger and there is a reason MMA has weight divisions.”
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