[News Figures] Musk VS Zuckerberg... White UFC Chairman Pushing for a 'Showdown'

College Dropout, Las Vegas Hotel Bellboy
Built Wealth as Manager of Martial Arts Fighters
Acquired UFC... Grew It into a Global Sports Company

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, and Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, have unexpectedly announced a fistfight showdown. After exchanging heated words over social networking service (SNS) platforms, the idea of settling it in an actual ring has emerged.

Adding to this, Dana White, president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), is seriously pushing for the two to face off. As a result, attention is also turning to White, with people curious about who is orchestrating the tension between Musk and Zuckerberg.

According to Bloomberg and other sources, on the 24th (local time), Musk was asked, "Are you really going to duel with Zuckerberg?" He replied, "I haven't started training yet, but I will once the fight is confirmed," and added, "The fight with Zuckerberg will probably actually happen."

The tension between Musk and Zuckerberg began with a war of words on social networking services (SNS). On the 21st, a Twitter user asked Musk about Meta's soon-to-be-launched platform 'Threads,' which is expected to rival Twitter, saying, "Will Threads become Twitter's rival?" Musk sarcastically responded, "Soon the whole world will be ruled by Zuckerberg's fingers with no alternatives."

When another user warned, "Be careful, Zuckerberg does jiu-jitsu," Musk replied, "I am ready for a cage fight." Upon hearing this, Zuckerberg captured Musk's tweet on Instagram and said, "Send me the location." Musk responded, "Las Vegas Octagon."

Dana White UFC President
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Who is White, the President Setting the 'Duel Stage' for Musk and Zuckerberg?

The Las Vegas Octagon is the venue where UFC matches are held. Dana White, UFC president, said in an interview with the American tabloid TMZ Sports on the 22nd, "This (Musk-Zuckerberg fight) will be the biggest fight in world history," and expressed confidence that "it will break all pay-per-view records." He added, "These two are not fighting because they need money," and predicted, "The donation amount will be enormous."

White revealed that after the online spat, he spoke directly with Musk and Zuckerberg, saying, "Zuckerberg called first and asked, 'Is Musk serious?'" and "When I contacted Musk, he said, 'I am really serious.'" However, White suggested that since neither Musk nor Zuckerberg needs more money, the profits should be donated to charities of their choice.

White was born in 1969 in Manchester, Connecticut, USA. He spent his childhood in Las Vegas, dropped out of the University of Massachusetts, and began working as a bellboy at a Las Vegas hotel.

Later, he operated a gym in Las Vegas and worked as a manager for martial arts fighters. In 2001, he and his high school friend, casino magnate Lorenzo Fertitta, acquired UFC and attracted top-tier fighters worldwide. With his unique business acumen, he brought famous fighters like Conor McGregor and Brock Lesnar into the ring, amassing wealth. He was also included in Time magazine's "100 Most Influential People in the World" in 2010.

Known for his straightforward and challenging personality, White once faced controversy for physically fighting with his wife in public. In January, TMZ released footage showing White arguing with his wife, Anne White, at a nightclub in Mexico, where they slapped each other. Anne slapped first, and White, unable to hold back, hit her face.

After the video spread, White apologized in an interview with TMZ, saying, "I've always said 'there is no excuse for a man to lay hands on a woman,'" and added, "It was terrible and shameful. I have no excuse, and this is the first time I've physically clashed with my wife."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.