UFC president Dana White said there really were negotiations over a proposed MMA fight between Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk, but the deal collapsed because the venue idea proved impossible. The matchup was supposed to feature two of the world’s richest men in a historic setting, with the Colosseum in Rome discussed as the preferred site.
White said the talks lasted about two weeks several months ago. “It was impossible. We were negotiating with both of them about the fight, it was real, but it was impossible,” he said.
According to White, the Colosseum’s managers demanded about $150 million to hold the event there, money that would have gone toward restoring other historic sites in Italy and specifically in Rome. “I was in my backyard for two weeks trying to close this fight, but they only wanted to do it at the Colosseum,” he said.
In the end, the fight was reportedly sunk by Musk’s distancing himself from the deal, rather than by the venue price alone. The report noted that the UFC’s historic White House event last weekend cost the promotion about $60 million, less than half of the amount linked to the Rome plan.
