Mark Zuckerberg has opened up about his wife’s unexpected response after he tore his ACL while sparring in 2023.
The Meta boss had been preparing for a possible showdown with Elon Musk after the X owner publicly challenged him to a cage fight in 2023.
Although the much-discussed bout never happened, Zuckerberg — who has become deeply involved in MMA training, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and follows the UFC closely — picked up a serious injury while getting ready for what could have been a high-profile clash.
At the time, he posted four photos from his hospital bed and wrote on Instagram:
“Tore my ACL sparring and just got out of surgery to replace it. Grateful for the doctors and team taking care of me.
“I was training for a competitive MMA fight early next year, but now that’s delayed a bit.
“Still looking forward to doing it after I recover. Thanks to everyone for the love and support.”
Many people might assume that an injury like that would have prompted Priscilla Chan to tell her husband to give up fighting altogether. According to Zuckerberg, that was not her reaction at all.
During an appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience, Zuckerberg explained that he expected his wife to push back when he told her about the injury.
“When I tore my ACL, first of all, everyone at the company was like, yeah, f***, we’re going to get so many more emails now. Like, he can’t do this.”
“And I sat down with Priscilla and I expected her to be like, ‘you’re an idiot. Like, what do you expect?’ I was in my late 30s at the time.”
He continued: “But she was like, ‘when you heal your ACL, you better go back to fighting’. And I’m like, ‘what do you mean?’ She’s like, ‘you are so much better to be around now that you’re doing this. You have to fight.'”
“That’s completely contrary to the way most people, if they’re outside of it, would perceive it. It definitely takes the edge off things.”
Zuckerberg added that the setback did not end his martial arts journey. He has continued training jiu-jitsu, competed in amateur tournaments, and remained one of the most high-profile tech leaders to publicly embrace combat sports.
Even though the back-and-forth between Zuckerberg and Musk was widely seen by some as a publicity stunt, the New York Times reported at the time that both men and their advisers had been involved in discussions about what such an event could look like.
Commenting on the proposed matchup in 2023, UFC president Dana White said: “We have two guys that have never professional fought, and they’re in two completely different weight classes.
“It will be the biggest fight in the history of combat sports.”
For now, the contest remains a what-if — but the idea clearly hasn’t been forgotten.