Mark Zuckerberg trains in jiu-jitsu ahead of 'cage match' with Elon Musk. Watch

Mark Zuckerberg and Lex Fridman training in jiu-jitsu. (Image credit: Lex Fridman/YouTube)

Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg was seen training in the Brazilian marital art of jiu-jitsu days after he accepted a cage fight challenge from billionaire Elon Musk. The fierce business rivalry between the two tech titans may spill over into a playground spat following Musk's repeated jibes at Zuckerberg.

Russian-American computer scientist Lex Fridman shared a video of him and Zuckerberg training in jiu-jitsu.

“Here's a highlight video of Mark Zuckerberg and I training jiu jitsu. I look forward to training with @elonmusk as well. It's inspiring to see both Elon and Mark taking on the martial arts journey,” he tweeted.

Here's a highlight video of Mark Zuckerberg and I training jiu jitsu. I look forward to training with @elonmusk as well. It's inspiring to see both Elon and Mark taking on the martial arts journey. See the full video here: https://t.co/G1ubUuxILK pic.twitter.com/WsLaRiFf1o

— Lex Fridman (@lexfridman) June 25, 2023

It all began after Zuckerberg's Meta hinted it was planning to launch its own text-based social media platform -- essentially a direct rival to Musk's Twitter.

Elon Musk trolled Zuckerberg with messages on Twitter, telling his fans this week: "I'm up for a cage match if he is lol."

Mark Zuckerberg, who has followed the trend of tech bosses getting buff and posting martial arts videos, responded on his Instagram Stories with a screenshot of the message and a response: "Send me location."

Meta confirmed to news agency AFP that Zuckerberg's message was genuine.

The exchange has provoked mirth on social media with plenty of fight predictions - Zuckerberg emerging as the clear favourite.

Zuckerberg, 39, competed in his first jiu-jitsu tournament in May last year and won medal. He reportedly competed in the white belt master 2 lightweight division in both gi and no gi jiu-jitsu. A gi is a thick, white cotton uniform worn in several martial arts.

Mark Zuckerberg has been practicing combat sports for quite a while now and in September 2021, he shared a video of him sparring with one of his training partners, Khai Wu, also known as "The Shadow" ahead of his debut on UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) Fight Pass -- an American subscription-based video streaming service on combat sports.

Zuckerberg recently shared on Facebook and Instagram that he had completed the “Murph” challenge, which is named for Navy Lieutenant Michael Murphy, who was killed in Afghanistan in June 2005, aged 29.

Musk had claimed in a podcast last year that he was trained in Kyokushin karate, taekwondo, judo, and “Brazilian jiu-jitsu briefly” when he was a boy.

(With inputs from AFP)