Martial arts rookie Elon Musk was pictured Tuesday sparring during an “impromptu” training session for his potential cage match with Mark Zuckerberg.
Podcaster, AI researcher and Brazilian jiujitsu black belt Lex Fridman tweeted photos of Musk holding him in a headlock and flipping him onto his back on Tuesday.
“I did an impromptu training session with @elonmusk for a few hours yesterday. I’m extremely impressed with his strength, power and skill, on the feet and on the ground,” Fridman wrote in the post. “It was epic.”
Musk replied: “That was fun!”
Fridman’s photos showed Musk executing moves that were a far cry from “The Walrus,” which he jokingly shared last week is “where I just lie on top of my opponent & do nothing.”
The same day the podcaster shared the images, Musk accepted an offer by UFC legend Georges St-Pierre to train him.
St. Pierre, a 42-year-old retired champ, first offered his services on Saturday, tweeting at Musk: “I’m a huge fan of yours and it would be an absolute honor to help you and be your training partner for the challenge against Zuckerberg.”
“Ok, let’s do it,” he replied to St-Pierre with two fire emojis.
The 51-year-old Twitter owner challenged the 39-year-old Facebook founder to a “cage match” earlier this month after Zuckerberg’s Meta-owned Instagram reported plans to build a text-based social media platform to rival Twitter.
Though Musk told Joe Rogan during an appearance on his podcast last year that he trained in Kyokushin karate, taekwondo, judo, and “Brazilian jiujitsu briefly” when he was a boy, Zuckerberg has been sharing videos of him training in MMA gyms since September.
Last month, Zuckerberg took home gold in his first amateur Brazilian jiujitsu tournament and completed the “Murph” challenge over Memorial Day weekend.
The challenge consists of running a mile, followed by 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, and 300 squats, before dashing out on a second mile run — all while wearing a 20-pound weighted vest. Zuckerberg came in just under 40 minutes.
Musk may not have the same experience — he also previously confessed that “I wouldn’t exercise at all if I could” — but he has the size advantage at 5 foot, 11 inches and 180 pounds.
Zuckerberg, meanwhile, stands at about 5 feet, 7 inches tall, and weighs around 154 pounds.
Critics have been divided on which tech mogul will take home the win. Fridman, however, advised the billionaires against cage fighting.
“I think the world is served far better if they train martial arts but not fight in the cage,” Fridman shared.
“That said, as Elon says, the most entertaining outcome is the most likely… I’m there for them, no matter what,” he added.
It’s unclear if and when Musk and Zuckerberg will officially spar it out, though the rivals seem ready for a throwdown.
It would mark the culmination of a years-long rivalry between the two that has reportedly played out behind closed doors.
Musk has tweeted: “I’m up for a cage match if he is lol.”
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