Mark Zuckerberg is taking this whole UFC passion to a new and fairly bizarre level.
The Facebook founder and Meta chief executive has developed a passion for mixed martial arts in recent years.
A man who was once lampooned for the amount of sunscreen he wore outdoors has sparred with the likes of Alex Volkanovski and Israel Adesanya and even tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in a sparring session last November.
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The 39-year-old’s Instagram page is filled with his MMA exploits and he was linked with a fight against fellow billionaire, 52-year-old Elon Musk, for some time before that thankfully fell through.
Zuckerberg has clearly developed a friendship with members of the UFC world, with Georgian Merab Dvalishvili chatting with the billionaire during his one-sided victory over Henry Cejudo on Sunday in Anaheim.
The Facebook boss was then part of Volkanovski’s entourage for his featherweight title defence against Ilia Topuria, the main event of UFC 298.
The pair embraced shortly before the Australian stepped into the Octagon.
But it was Zuckerberg’s actions shortly prior to that moment that have drawn the attention of social media enthusiasts.
It is typical in UFC fights to see the entourage help their fighter before the action starts as they strip down and get checked by the referee.
Despite his best efforts to help out, perhaps take Volk’s shirt or shoes, anything really, he is continually overlooked by other members of the team.
He’s acting more like a younger brother trying desperately to fit in than a powerful, world-renowned billionaire.
To complete the terribly awkward moment, he is also attempting to dance to Volkanovski’s entrance song, Land Downunder by Men At Work.
The moment was posted to X by an account called Mikel Miikey, somewhat cruelly stating his belief that as soon as he saw the billionaire, who he refers to as a reptile, he feared for Volkanovski’s chances.
“The moment I saw this lizard’s face I knew it’s gonna end bad for Volkanovski,” he wrote.
The response has been brutal for the father of three.
“Why was he trying to grab every piece of clothing?” was one comment, along with a series of laughing crying emojis.
“Trying to convince himself he’s part of the team,” was Miikey’s reply.
“Jesus. Volks been compromised,” was another comment.
“Lmfaooo for real that dude is a f**king dork!” wrote another.
“Just a lizardman trying to be relevant at something that had nothing to do with him,” added a fourth.
Whether or not Zuck was a bad omen, it proved a disastrous day for Volkanovski, who was brutally knocked out in the second round to lose his featherweight belt.
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