Elon Musk vs Mark Zuckerberg Fight Odds

Recent years have seen an explosion of celebrities entering the combat sports arena, with the likes of Jake and Logan Paul and KSI being frequent visitors to the boxing ring in huge pay-per-view bouts. Big as many of those fights have been, it now appears that we have a Mixed Martial Arts monster on the horizon, which – if it takes place – will put all that has come before firmly in the shade.

Your potential protagonists in this clash of tech giants are none other than Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and the head honcho of Twitter and Tesla, Elon Musk. Here we take a look at the background to this social media showdown, the betting odds available, and who is likely to come out on top.

If reports are to be believed, Musk and Zuckerberg have never featured highly in the estimations of the other. Those hostilities have escalated in recent months thanks to Zuckerberg's recent launch of the Threads platform. Designed as a direct competitor to the flagging Twitter, Threads has been labelled a clone of the site whose market position it aims to steal.

It All Started with a Tweet

Musk was predictably unenthused with this "Threads" development, leading to the threat of a lawsuit and the following fateful chain of tweets.

• Elon Musk - "I'm sure Earth can't wait to be exclusively under Zuck's thumb"
• frankenbeans - “Better be careful @elonmusk I heard he does ju jitsu now”
• Elon Musk - “I’m up for a cage match if he is”
• Mark Zuckerberg - “Send me location”
• Elon Musk - “Vegas Octagon”

And so, here we are. The above exchange unsurprisingly pricked the ears of UFC President Dana White, who - through his daydream of raining dollar signs - claims to have spoken to both men, who are "absolutely dead serious" about taking on the fight. Dana certainly made no attempt to undersell the bout, stating, “This would be the biggest fight ever in the history of the world”.

This would be the biggest fight ever in the history of the world. - Dana White

Whether the fight comes to fruition or remains in the realm of Twitter pipe dreams remains to be seen, but that hasn’t stopped fight fans, and almost everyone else, beginning to ponder what may occur should two of the richest men on the planet enter the Octagon.

Tale of the Tape

In taking on Musk, it is clear that Zuckerberg would be fighting considerably above his weight class, with the Twitter boss boasting a considerable height and weight advantage, even at the lower end of that weight estimate.

Zuckerburg has Youth and Skills

Zuckerberg may be behind in terms of size, but he has two crucial factors in his favour. Firstly, he appears to be super fit, with reports of him successfully undertaking the demanding “Murph” CrossFit challenge (involving running, 100s of sit-ups, press-ups and pull-ups in a weighted vest). Secondly, and most significantly, he also knows how to fight, having recently won a Jiu-Jitsu tournament in California.

Musk has Weight Advantage and….the Walrus

In contrast to Zuckerberg, Musk confesses that his fitness regimen has predominantly consisted of “picking up my kids and throwing them in the air”. Doesn’t sound like much, but then Musk does have ten children...

I have this great move that I call 'The Walrus', where I just lie on top of my opponent and do nothing

In addition to his child-based workout, Musk also claims to have some experience with Judo, Karate and Taekwondo and has recently been spotted training with jiu-jitsu blackbelt Lex Fridman. If conventional methods fail, the Tesla boss also has a rather special move to call upon, "I have this great move that I call 'The Walrus', where I just lie on top of my opponent and do nothing,"…worth the price of the pay per view on its own!

What do the Betting Odds Say?

The betting markets over in the US appear to favour skills over size, with DraftKings installing Zuckerburg as the -160 favourite (bet 160 to win 100) and Musk as the 140 outsider (bet 100 to win 140). Meanwhile, FanDuel heavily favoured the Facebook corner of the ring, making Zuckerberg their -440 favourite, with Musk available to back at +290.

UK bookmakers had a rather different view, with Betfair paying respect to “the Walrus” in making Musk the 4/6 favourite for the fight and Zuckerberg the outsider at Evs. For those who fancy a spectacular conclusion to the bout, both Musk and Zuckerberg are priced at 20/1 with Betfair to win by TKO or KO.

Will the Fight Actually Happen?

In addition to the outcome odds, Betfair has also released a list of odds on when the fight will take place – if at all.

• Fight to take place in 2023 - 10/1
• Fight to take place in 2024 - 4/1
• Fight to take place in 2025 - 2/1
• Fight to never happen - 10/11

With Zuckerberg seemingly well ahead of Musk in terms of fight readiness, it would be a surprise were Musk to agree to throw down in 2023. However, if the contenders are as serious about a fight as Dana White suggests, 2024 and 2025 could be real possibilities.

As to where the fight will take place, Las Vegas is the 4/5 favourite with Betfair, or how about the 50/1 available with the same firm that the MMA madness unfolds in Space? With the 1st and 8th richest men in the world involved, you can never rule anything out.