Earlier yesterday we covered the first video footage of Mark Zuckerberg competing in BJJ. Zuckerberg won silver and gold medals at his first BJJ competition.
The tournament took place in Redwood City, California. The new footage shows Zuckerberg attempting to pin his competitor to the ground, but he ended up pinned to the mat himself.
Heated Exchange with Referee
About two minutes into the bout, the referee called the match, believing that Zuckerberg had tapped out and handed the victory to his competitor.
An obviously frustrated Zuckerberg claimed to the ref that the call was an error. Eventually, the match was re-cast as a 0-0 draw, which pleased Zuckerberg as he hugged his opponent.
Zuckerberg’s Win
Zuckerberg went on to win both gold and silver medals in the Gi and No-Gi disciplines of Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He shared his win via an Instagram post with his 11.3 million followers. In the caption, he wrote, “Competed in my first jiu-jitsu tournament and won some medals for the Guerrilla Jiu-Jitsu team.”
He also thanked his coaches, Dave Camarillo, Khai “The Shadow” Wu, and James Terry, who shared congratulatory posts on their respective Instagram pages.
Zuckerberg’s Interest in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Zuckerberg’s win could be attributed to the time he has spent in MMA gyms. He has been sparring with Khai Wu at his gym, the Guerrilla Jiu-Jitsu Academy in San Jose, California. In an interview, Wu called the billionaire business magnate a “jiu-jitsu nerd,” noting that he often asks for “a little more resistance, a little more force.”
Zuckerberg’s interest in the sport began during the pandemic and was further highlighted when he appeared as a guest on “The Joe Rogan Experience” in 2022, hosted by UFC commentator Joe Rogan.
Gordon Ryan reacts
Plenty of UFC stars applauded that Zuckerberg decided to compete. BJJ is a hobby for a number of celebrities although the majority of them works within the Machado’s niche system which doesn’t feature live rolling. Zuckerberg seems to be the outlier along with Hollywood star Tom Hardy who recently competed again.
Current UFC Middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya, applauded the effort. UFC champion Brendon Moreno wrote: “Wow congrats 👏👏”.
Featherweight champion Alex Volkanvoski appreciated Zuckerberg’s nogi attire: “Legend! Love the shorts mate”.
Bantamweight star Marlon Chito Vera left a comment saying: “What a G brother”
BJJ World champion record holder Marcus Buchecha left a comment saying: “that’s awesome, congrats @zuck”
Bantamweight title contender Merab Dvalishvili was hoping to get an invite to train together: “Congratulations Zuck great job. I would love to training with you. ”
Along with UFC stars, ADCC winner Gordon Ryan also expressed his admiration for Zuckerberg while lamenting those who still refuse to compete citing they’re busy.
