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While the fires of Mark Zuckerberg vs. Elon Musk have died down, the embers are still glowing for Meta’s CEO to compete in mixed martial arts. The Facebook founder remains diligent in his training for the sport. And ONE Championship Flyweight Submission Grappling World Champion Mikey Musumeci believes he can be successful if he chooses this path.
Submission Grappling Star Mikey Musumeci on Zuckerberg: “He’s a grinder”
“I was pretty shocked when I saw that he’s a grinder. He has that grind in him. The second that I saw that, I was like, ‘ok, he could be very good in MMA or jiu-jitsu’ because, first of all, he has the highest IQ, right? But then he’s also tough as f***, you know,” Musumeci told TMZ.
Musumeci and Zuckerberg have developed a bond in recent times. The submission grappling great has spent time training with Zuckerberg at his home and continued his friendship away from training. With the experience of rolling with the 39-year-old, Musumeci detailed that his athletic ability is capable of competing against other professional mixed martial artists.
“Like I said, he’s around my size, and I think he’s very strong for my size. He’s above average strength, if not on the higher end of strength for my size. So, he’s going to be super technical because he’s super smart, and he can learn so fast. You show him a movement one time, and he instantly knows it, you know what I mean? He’s that type of guy,” Musumeci explained.
Zuckerberg has been enamored with mixed martial arts for some time. And his involvement with the sport is not a PR stunt or fly-by-night story. The California resident has even put a cage in his backyard to complement his training.
“We talk frequently, we’re always texting each other, and he texted me a picture of this cage in his backyard. You know, growing up in New Jersey, we had trampolines and stuff in our backyard, right? So it has that vibe, but I’m like, ‘What the hell? It’s a cage, what the f***.’ It shows because the type of person that Mark is is that everything he does, he does a hundred percent, right? He doesn’t half-ass anything, so if he’s into MMA, he’s going to put a cage in his f****** backyard,” Musumeci expressed.
However, Zuckerberg’s foray into the sport is not the only interest fans have. Musumeci’s expert skill on the ground has given thought to if he could make the transition. And it is a thought his coaches have as well.
Under the guidance of Gilbert Burns, Musumeci achieved his black belt in BJJ. Now the Brazilian is trying to talk him into competing in MMA. As Musumeci travels the world and gets access to elite-level training, he is not shutting down the idea.
“Gilbert [Burns] wants me to [do MMA] so bad, you know because Gilbert gave me my black belt. I’m moving to Thailand in September. I’m going to be there for a few months back and forth from the U.S. and Asia, but I’ll be in Thailand mostly. So, I’m going to have access to the best Muay Thai training in the world, right, being in the motherland of Muay Thai,” Musumeci said.
Only time will tell if one or the other makes the transition. Regardless if they do, their friendship is clearly paying off for the Meta CEO as his grappling continues to improve. If either or both decide to try their hand at MMA, the world will be watching. For Musumeci, he will compete next against Shinya Aoki at ONE Fight Night 15 on Friday, October 6th.
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