Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg could have cage fight in Roman Colosseum

Historic site was once used for gladiatorial contests – and now could see two billionaires face off

Andrew Griffin
Friday 30 June 2023 16:32 BST
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Mark Zuckerberg (L) agreed to fight Elon Musk in a ‘cage fight’ in Las Vegas
Mark Zuckerberg (L) agreed to fight Elon Musk in a ‘cage fight’ in Las Vegas (Getty Images)

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Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg’s promised cage fight could take place in Rome’s Colosseum.

Mr Musk suggested that the mixed martial arts bout could happen in the historic arena, which long ago served as the home of gladiatorial contests.

Now it could see the two billionaires face off in a battle that could see the two revive some of that history, according to Mr Musk.

He tweeted that there was “some chance” that the fight happened in the Colosseum, joking that he would need to work on his endurance as he shared a clip from The Life of Brian.

The minister of culture has reached out to Mr Zuckerberg to propose the location, TMZ reported. Both the billionaires are said to be intrigued by the idea, the site said.

That request was passed on to Dana White, the head of the UFC who has expressed an interest in co-ordinating the fight. The three have been negotiating about the details of the fight daily, TMZ reported.

It is not clear where in the Colosseum the fight could actually take place. While it could once hold tens of thousands of people, it can no longer host more than a few hundred people inside special temporary seating, and it has hosted few large events in recent times.

The fight between the two billionaires originally appeared to begin as something of a joke, after rumours that Mr Zuckerberg was looking for a competitor and Mr Musk tweeted that he was “up for a cage match”. Mr Zuckerberg replied to that tweet in a post with the caption “send me location”, and the fight appears to now be moving forward.

That has led to much speculation over how the two men would fight, and suggestions that it would be the biggest face-off in history. The details of any such event are far from agreed – but that has not stopped speculation about who would actually win such a battle.

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