@Zuck / Instagram
Facebook co-founder and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg sparring against Merab Dvalishvili on Lake Tahoe
Facebook co-founder and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, one of the wealthiest individuals on planet earth, has been hitting the mats (and gym) hard for years. Zuckerberg recently showed off his MMA skills while sparring on a platform in Lake Tahoe against Merab Dvalishvili who is considered to be one of greatest bantamweight fighters in UFC history.
At 42-years-old and worth hundreds of billions of dollars, most people would not expect that Mark Zuckerberg could hold his own against the former UFC bantamweight champion but those people would be wrong. This is also nothing new for Zuck who won gold in his very first Jiu-Jitsu competition back in 2023, and he’s only gotten better since.
Mark Zuckerberg vs UFC Legend Merab Dvalishvili: Who Ya Got?
Posted to Mark’s Instagram account, the videos shows Zuckerberg and Merab Dvalishvili squaring off on a platform floating in the middle of Lake Tahoe where Mark and his family spend time outside of Silicon Valley. The platform appears to be a floating dock of sorts, being held in place/stabilized by an attached barge.
For the sparring session they have a referee on hand to make sure everything stays clean and above the belt. There are also a handful of cameramen and videographers to capture the session in all its glory so we can see the finished product in the form of this video below that has absolutely BLOWN UP on Instagram. In less than 24 hours, the Reels has earned 750K ‘likes’ and counting. those are ludicrous numbers these days but seeing Zuck throw down has captured the attention of millions worldwide.
It is refreshing to see Mark and Merab wearing protective gear. After Zuckerberg tore his ACL in November 2023 he went through the healing process and came back stronger than ever, but it is good to see him protecting that from potentially happening again.
This is far from the first time MZ has trained/sparred with UFC fighters. He has sparred against Israel Adesanya in the past as well as Alexander Volkanovski. Merab also said back in 2024 that Zuckerberg was his “fourth corner” and coached him during UFC 298.
Merab and Zuck also got together for a sparring session at the end of last year but that one was indoors. Here they are in a replica of ‘The Octagon.’
In a world where guys like Jonah Hill are bragging about their BJJ skills only for videos to reveal them as anything but tough, it is refreshing to see a guy like Zuckerberg actually putting in the work on the mat to build muscle and skill.