By Steve Hopkins.
‘Losing to him and then it being posted on FB would have to be the top 5 worst non-health related things that can happen in life.’
Mark Zuckerberg has proved he’s got more than just a grip on social media.
The Facebook founder and Meta CEO has shocked martial arts fans, and social media users, after taking home gold and silver medals in his first Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournament.
The 38-year-old competed in both the Gi and No-Gi disciplines – the Gi being the loose-fitting uniform of heavy fabric tied with a belt that’s often worn by competitors – at an event he did not name. According to Jitsmag, Zuckerberg competed in the white belt master’s two division.
The billionaire shared a carousel of pictures from the tournament on Instagram. In a caption, he wrote: “Competed in my first jiu-jitsu tournament and won some medals for the Guerrilla Jiu-Jitsu team.
“Thanks to @davecamarillo @khaiwu @intense0ne for training me!”
https://twitter.com/ETNOWPLUS1/status/1655459282756976640?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1655459282756976640%7Ctwgr%5E0bd706bd460b27de964024baffa73084e0bd603d%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.joe.co.uk%2Fnews%2Fmark-zuckerberg-stuns-onlookers-by-winning-gold-and-silver-at-first-jiu-jitsu-tournament-394378
Mark Zuckerberg just completed in a jiu-jitsu tournament yesterday and won his weight class. Loosing to him and then it being posted on FB would have to be the top 5 worst non health related things that can happen in life. 🤣
— P. Mo (@christopherpmo) May 7, 2023
Zuckerberg first revealed his love of MMA in an appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience last year where he explained that he had found grappling during the pandemic, having been introduced through his surfing friends.
“I really like watching UFC for example, but I also like doing the sport,” Zuckerberg said on the podcast.
“There’s something so primal about it, I don’t know … Since then I’ve just introduced a bunch of my friends to it—we train together, and we like, wrestle together, and there’s a certain intensity to it that I like.”
Zuckerberg has seemingly struck up a friendship with UFC boss, Dana White, and has been pictured sitting next to him at events.
In September 2022, Zuckerberg posted footage of him sparring with mixed martial artist Khai ‘The Shadow’ Wu ahead of the fighter’s UFC debut.
The video, which attracted hundred of thousands of likes, quickly went viral and drew comments from many big names in the fighting world.
“This is great!’ Joe Rogan commented.
“I’m so happy to see this. Training looks solid too!’ Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner Bernardo Faria commented, “Amazing!!! Half guard, arm-bars, triangle! Super cool!’”
“That’s dope,” UFC grappler and three-time World Jiu-Jitsu champion Gilbert Burns wrote.
“Yo!!! F***ing awesome Mark,’ former UFC champion Conor McGregor commented on the post.
Speaking about his love for jiu-jitsu, Zuckerberg has previously said: “MMA is like the perfect thing because it’s like, if you stop paying attention for one second, you’re gonna end up on the bottom.”
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu has become very popular with celebrities in recent years, with the likes of Tom Hardy, Russell Brand, Henry Cavill, Jonah Hill and Guy Ritchie posting about their interest in the sport. Hardy made headlines last year when he won a few tournaments in the UK.
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First published on JOE.co.uk.
