Mark Zuckerberg's top 5 UFC collab moments feat. Dana White joining Meta board

Mark Zuckerberg and Dana White have made waves in the combat sports realm and beyond in 2025. The Meta owner recently announced that White would be on the organization's board of directors. White, too, expressed his excitement about the collaboration.

Speaking of collaborations, Zuckerberg has often praised the UFC and White. The tech billionaire is a longtime MMA fan and attends various UFC events. Today we look at some of the best Zuckerberg-UFC collab moments - from his latest deal with White to his training with UFC stars.

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#5 Mackenzie Dern's comments about Mark Zuckerberg renting UFC Apex

BJJ great and UFC women's strawweight contender Mackenzie Dern has long been a fan-favorite fighter. She faced Yan Xiaonan in the headlining match of UFC Vegas 61 at the UFC's Apex facility in Vegas in October 2022.

The event wasn't open to the fans. Speaking to the media, Dern made a major claim during fight week. The grappling ace suggested that Mark Zuckerberg had rented the entire place for a private viewing, presumably for him, his wife, and their friends:

"I mean, I know Mark Zuckerberg like, rented out the whole event. You know? So I know he will be there. I mean, but I don't know if it's just like, literally him and his wife or he's gonna have friends. Or if it will be like a small party."

Dern ended up losing via majority decision. Meanwhile, Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan were in attendance at the event, which was closed to the fans. This fueled rumors that it was indeed because Zuckerberg had rented the event for himself and his loved ones. However, UFC head honcho Dana White took to X and deemed the speculation as "total bullsh**."

Check out Dern's comments below:

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#4 Alexander Volkanovski's cornerman

Mark Zuckerberg has trained with combat sports megastar and ex-UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and ex-UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski. In 2023, Adesanya notably posted footage of Zuckerberg's training with them in preparation for the Meta boss' potential MMA fight against rival billionaire, Elon Musk.

While Zuckerberg has trained with other MMA fighters and BJJ practitioners as well, he particularly seemed to develop a bond of respect with Volkanovski. He even accompanied the Australian MMA legend during his walkout to the octagon for his UFC featherweight championship defense against Ilia Topuria at UFC 298 in February 2024.

Things didn't go Volkanovski's way in the fight, as he got knocked out and lost his title to Topuria. Regardless, Zuckerberg's being a part of 'The Great's' fighter walkout and corner made waves in the event's aftermath.

Given the magnitude of the fight between the two elite athletes, some felt Zuckerberg might've been a distraction as a cornerman, but Volkanovski's head coach Joe Lopez later shot down that notion.

Check out Mark Zuckerberg accompany Volkanovski as his cornerman below:

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#3 Comedy collab with Alex Pereira

A former Glory middleweight and light heavyweight champion, an ex-UFC middleweight champion, and the reigning UFC light heavyweight champion - Alex Pereira is hailed as a bonafide combat sports legend. Another great thing about 'Poatan' is his deadpan comedy and excellent sense of humor.

The stoic Pereira's rise to UFC superstardom has witnessed him showcase the funny side of his personality as well. He often appears in comedic skits with influencers - even with his friend and grappling mentor, ex-UFC light heavyweight kingpin Glover Teixeira. Well, in August 2024, the Brazilian combatant collaborated with Mark Zuckerberg.

Pereira and Zuckerberg put forth an Olympics parody video, featuring themselves comically engaging in different sports -- including fencing, weightlifting, surfing, judo, boxing, soccer, synchronized diving, badminton, rowing, speed walking, swimming, and a 100-meter sprint. Needless to say, the skit also served to display another side of the busy tech leader's personality as well.

Check out the hilarious collaboration featuring Mark Zuckerberg and 'Poatan' below:

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#2 Dana White's support for potential Elon Musk vs. Mark Zuckerberg MMA fight

Back in 2023, speculation abounded that South Africa-born U.S.-based billionaire Elon Musk and U.S.-born and based billionaire Mark Zuckerberg could clash in an MMA fight. Taking to the X (formerly known as Twitter) platform, which he's owned since 2022, Musk directed several jibes at Zuckerberg and challenged him to a "cage match."

The latter responded by using ex-UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov's signature line, "Send me location." Zuckerberg thereby expressed his willingness to fight Musk.

Speaking to TMZ Sports in June 2023, UFC CEO and president Dana White suggested that the UFC was willing to organize a special fight card headlined by Musk and Zuckerberg. The consensus was that the revenue from the two entrepreneurs' MMA match would be donated to charities of their respective choosing. White said:

"Well, just to give some clarification. So what he said is -- Mark Zuckerberg responded with, 'Send me location,' which is something that Khabib Nurmagomedov says when people challenge him. So that was what 'send me location' meant. And I was talking to both Elon and Mark last night. Both guys are absolutely dead serious about this."

White also indicated that it had the potential to be the highest-grossing fight ever. Rumors were rife that it could be held in the iconic Colosseum in Italy. However, Musk claimed that it wouldn't be organized by the UFC and rather would be co-promoted by his and Zuckerberg's respective foundations and streamed on their platforms (Musk's X and Zuckerberg's Meta).

Nevertheless, Musk later signaled that he was dealing with an injury that would necessitate surgery. Many believed that Musk was simply trolling the Meta owner. He even proposed a backyard practice match.

Zuckerberg, who's trained in MMA and BJJ, and competed in BJJ contests too, eventually highlighted that Musk wasn't serious about fighting him. Zuckerberg added that he'd rather prefer competing against someone who takes martial arts competition seriously.

Check out Dana White's comments below (0:00):

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#1 Dana White becomes a member of Meta's Board of Directors

Having just entered the 2025 calendar year, both Mark Zuckerberg and Dana White sent netizens into a tizzy with a massive announcement. White, Italian industrialist John Elkann, and investor and ex-Microsoft exec Charlie Songhurst were announced as the three new members of the Zuckerberg-owed Meta's board of directors.

Zuckerberg himself is a member of the board, which comprises 13 members. Certain sections of the socio-political realm viewed Zuckerberg's decision to give White a prominent position in his company as another strategic move to get closer to President-elect Donald Trump.

The 40-year-old Zuckerberg, who lavished praise on Democratic Party member and ex-U.S. president Barack Obama years ago, is believed to have lately shifted toward the Republican Party and its longtime face -- Donald Trump.

Two key elements here are that Dana White happens to be a longtime friend and supporter of Trump, so a closer bond with White would help ties with Trump.

Secondly, the Trump-Vance administration, which will replace the Biden-Harris administration later this month, could bring about major changes in social media regulations. As such, tech bigwigs solidifying strong bonds with Trump could likely help them entrepreneurially.

Mark Zuckerberg lauded Dana White, adding that the latter would help Meta navigate future business challenges and opportunities. Meanwhile, deeming AI and social media as the future, White elatedly stated:

"I've never been interested in joining a board of directors until I got the offer to join Meta's board."