The proposed “cage match” battle of tech titans Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg could truly be a modern-day gladiatorial contest, according to a report that an Italian government official has offered the use of Rome’s Colosseum as a potential venue.
According to TMZ Sports, Italy’s Minister of Culture “reached out to Zuckerberg a few days ago” about the possibility of holding the fight at the 2,000-year-old ancient amphitheater where bread and circuses were regularly served up during the heyday of the Roman Empire.
“Our sources say both Elon and Mark would love for the fight to go down at the Colosseum,” the outlet reported. “We’re told Zuckerberg’s people passed on the message to UFC Prez Dana White, whose people contacted the Minister.”
The idea of the mano-a-mano bout between the heads of Twitter and Meta/Facebook came together quickly last week when the two rivals engaged in a back-and-forth on social media with Musk tweeting that “I’m up for a cage match if he is,” and Zuckerberg reacting with “send me the location” on Instagram, with the Las Vegas Octagon being the possible venue, until the use of the Colosseum was offered up.
“Some chance fight happens in Colosseum,” Musk tweeted early Friday morning.
Some chance fight happens in Colosseum
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 30, 2023
It isn’t clear exactly where the fight would take place as the venue hasn’t hosted large-scale live events inside for centuries. Sir Paul McCartney held an exclusive charity concert in the Colosseum in 2003 for 400 people who paid up to $1,500 to see the former Beatle perform his hits but other events have been held outside with the imposing structure as a background.
In another early Friday tweet, the Tesla/SpaceX CEO shared a clip of a Colosseum scene from the Monty Python movie “The Life of Brian,” writing “Need to work on my endurance.”
Need to work on my endurancehttps://t.co/jjh7uxfwC6
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 30, 2023
The tale of the tape between the two opponents has the 52-year-old “Chief Twit” who is 6’2″ and weighs 230 pounds being physically superior to Zuckerberg who is 39 years old and clocks in at 5’7″ and 145 pounds, a potential stumbling block for a Vegas showdown as the Nevada Athletic Commission should have to approve. Despite the disparity in size, Zuckerberg is skilled at the art of jiu-jitsu, but rules are rules although since it would be an exhibition match, there may be some flexibility.
The Colosseum would certainly make for an attractive alternative given the sheer spectacle of the location, which among other things, is famous for such “entertainment” as Christians being fed to the lions.
“Multiple sources with direct knowledge tell us if you’re gonna bet on whether this fight goes down … wager that it’s happening. We’re told both Musk and Zuck are ‘all in,’ and have been negotiating with Dana about the details of a fight daily … multiple times each day for more than a week,” TMZ Sports reported.
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