Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg wants the world to know he’s one tough nerd, as he recently won two medals at a Brazilian Jiujitsu tournament in the Bay Area. The 38-year-old debuted at the BJJ Tour competition held at a Silicon Valley high school on Saturday. He won the gold medal in the Nogi Master 1 White Belt Feather Weight Division and the Silver medal in the Gi Master 2 White Belt Feather Weight Division, per reports.
Zuckerberg trains with noted BJJ practitioner and coach Dave Camarillo, who has also trained stars like Keanu Reaves. In addition, he works with former professional MMA fighter James Terry, who has fought for Bellator MMA and Strikeforce, and coach Kai Wu from Guerilla Jiu Jitsu in San Jose, California.
In other words, Zuck is not playing.
Submitting To The Game
“Competed in my first jiu jitsu tournament and won some medals for the Guerrilla Jiu Jitsu team,” Zuckerberg posted on Facebook. From the over 40,000 comments, even UFC fighter Conor McGregor congratulated him for stepping onto the mat.
However, Zuckerberg has shown his fondness for combat sports in the past. Last October, Zuck, his wife, Priscilla Chan, and some friends were given an ultra-private UFC in-venue experience when they were the only live spectators for UFC Fight Night 211. The fight featured Mackenzie Dern vs.Yan Xiaonan as the main event, and at a media event earlier in the week the organization told the press and fans that they would not be allowed to attend the fights. The UFC owns the venue they were held in, UFC Apex in Las Vegas, a minor club-style prospect fight venue.
During press outings for the event, Mackenzie Dern told the media, “I know Mark Zuckerberg rented out the whole event.”
The rumor began that the fights were a private party for Zuckerberg. However, UFC president Dana White went into defensive mode, tweeting that Zuckerberg “did NOT rent out the UFC Apex. That’s total bullsh*t.”
Everybody Get Your Roll On
Zuckerberg is not the only celebrity to roll on the mat competitively. Last August, 44-year-old actor Tom Hardy showcased his combat athleticism during a charity jiujitsu match, which included a “championship” that Hardy won — twice. The “Venom” actor fetched two gold medals at the REORG Open Jiu-Jitsu Championship, dominating his opponents in Aldersley Leisure Village in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, in the U.K.
Hardy reportedly began training in mixed martial arts, where jiujitsu was a core element, when he prepared for the movie “Warrior” in 2011. He additionally trained in mixed martial arts for his 2018 role in “Venom.
Brazilian jiujitsu or BJJ is known as the gentle art, a nonviolent form of combat sport subjecting opponents to holds and vulnerable positioning via using your arms and legs without throwing one punch at the opponent.
For Zuckerberg, who said he found jiujiitsu to help boost his energy and focus at work during an August 2022 episode of the “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast, he began training during the pandemic. Now he is winning medals and redefining the combat abilities of tech geeks everywhere.
