UFC President Dana White continues to promote the hell out of a virtual fight between Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk. Another tease that the tech-wealthy struggle might actually go down in his promotion? New video on social media in which Dana shows off a UFC branded T-shirt with the slogan “ZUCKERBERG -VS- MUSK” on it.
White also mixed it up in the comments section, Throwing shade at random people who dared to point out that this was a gimmick.
“This is not a gimmick fight,” White declared. “The trick is MMA guys go boxing and overpower. We’ve already seen it and we know how it ends. This is a fight between 2 of the strongest/richest guys in the world. Who’s going to win? Who’s seen this before? No one. It’s also a crossover fight that literally everyone will watch” .
“Keep watching MMA vs. Boxer boxing,” he told another person. “You obviously love those fights even though you know exactly who’s going to win. It’s good.”
White is undoubtedly right about it being a fight that will transcend mainstream consciousness, a fight that everyone will want to see. But let’s be clear: it’s a gimmick. Just because it is not an MMA vs. Boxing gimmick does not exclude it from being a gimmick. White even emphasized the specific gimmick in his comment: The richest men in the world are fighting each other.
The stated goal of the UFC (according to Dana White himself) is to have fights between the best martial artists in the world. A gimmick “is a trick or device intended to attract attention, publicity, or business.” Given that Zuck is still a white belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Elon Musk experiment Limited to the “old-fashioned judo, kyokushin (full contact) and no street fighting rules” experience, this isn’t the best-for-the-best. so, what is it? gimmick.
And that’s fine with us. Just don’t pretend this isn’t a gimmick. Because it is. It’s also probably just a promotional ploy too, which is the real sin here.