The long-anticipated rivalry between tech titans Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk came up during a recent episode of the Joe Rogan Experience, when podcast host Joe Rogan and YouTube star MrBeast both threw their support firmly behind the Meta CEO.
During episode #2527, the conversation turned to the proposed Zuckerberg vs. Musk cage match, which Rogan revealed came close to taking place at one of history’s most iconic venues.
“They were going to do Elon Musk versus Mark Zuckerberg in the Roman Colosseum, but it was going to cost $150 million just to secure the venue and set everything up,” Rogan told MrBeast.
The match never happened, and if Rogan’s take is anything to go by, Musk should consider himself fortunate. Rogan was direct about how he thought the matchup would have played out.
“It would have been a terrible match,” he said, with MrBeast adding bluntly, “Elon would have been destroyed.”
Rogan then made clear why he believed Zuckerberg held such a decisive edge, pointing specifically to the quality of his coaching.
“He thinks he’s big and so that’s gonna be enough. But Mark knows how to fight. Mark is really into it. He trains all the time. He’s obsessed. He brought this guy that I know, Dave Camarillo, who’s a world-class coach, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, judo black belt, and has been training him. He’s training with hardcore people.”
MrBeast backed up Rogan’s assessment with a personal anecdote, recalling his own early interaction with Zuckerberg.
“The first time I talked to him years ago, we were just chatting, and then at the end of it he’s like, ‘Yo, you want to come train MMA or whatever at my lake?’ And I was like, ‘Oh, no, but I appreciate the offer.’ But instantly I could tell that’s like his way of bonding and building friendships. He was being very serious. He wanted to roll.”
Rogan noted that Zuckerberg had also invited him to go bow hunting, reinforcing the image of a CEO who genuinely lives the active lifestyle he projects publicly.
Both men agreed that Zuckerberg’s commitment to training is authentic. Rogan pointed to the visual evidence in sparring footage.
“The way you could tell that it’s not fake is watching him train, because there’s no way he could be that good if he’s not actually putting in the time. I watch even his striking, his jiu-jitsu, all that stuff, and it’s clear there’s many hours been spent working on technique to achieve this level of proficiency. He doesn’t look like a world champion or anything like that, but he looks like a guy who’s training a lot.”
Rogan then offered a simple but telling observation.
“There’s no way you can’t be enthusiastic about it and be doing that.”
Whether or not a match between the two billionaires ever comes to pass, both Rogan and MrBeast made one thing clear: when it comes to genuine preparation, Zuckerberg has put in the work.
