Andrew Tate, a former kickboxing champion currently under house arrest in Bulgaria over human trafficking charges, has offered to train Elon Musk after the Twitter CEO challenged Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to a cage fight.
Tate became a controversial internet celebrity after he was booted off the British reality show “Big Brother” over his speech on social media. As an influencer, he promoted what he called an “ultra-masculine, ultra-luxurious lifestyle.”
In 2022, Tate was banned from Meta platforms Facebook and Instagram, as well as Twitter and TikTok, officially for reasons of misogyny.
But Tate sees things differently. “Meta banned me everywhere for telling the truth about vaccines,” he wrote on Twitter.
“But now we can restore honour with a strike at the enemy clans leader,” he told Musk, who reinstated Tate’s account after he took over Twitter.
“I will train you, @elonmusk. You will not lose.”
The challenge came in response to rumors that Meta had begun building a competing app soon after Musk bought Twitter.
“I’m sure Earth can’t wait to be exclusively under Zuck’s thumb with no other options,” Musk replied.
“Better be careful,” one user replied, “I heard he does ju jitsuy [sic] now.”
“I’m up for a cage match if he is lol,” the nearly 52-year-old Twitter CEO replied.
The 14-year age difference and recent physical routine both play into the hands of the 38-year-old Meta CEO Zuckerberg, who in May won gold and silver in his first Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournament, a sport he took up during the pandemic.
“I have this great move that I call ‘The Walrus’, where I just lie on top of my opponent & do nothing,” Musk wrote on Thursday.
“A jiu jitsu match between Zuck and Elon would definitely be a fun plot twist in this simulation. I’m all for it,” podcast host Lex Fridman said, to which Musk replied, “Let’s go full MMA.”
“Although very dated now, I trained in judo, Kyokushin (full contact) & no rules streetfighting,” Musk later added.
Meanwhile, UFC President Dana White claimed that two CEOs were “dead serious” about the fight after he spoke to them. “This would be the biggest fight ever in the history of the world,” White added, “It would break all pay per view records … everyone would want to see it!”
Musk hasn’t replied to Tate’s coaching proposal.
Tate and his brother Tristan were arrested in Romania in December after two women accused them of rape. The brothers were detained for months without charge and their assets were confiscated. Tate’s lawyers have called the proceedings a “violation of international human rights.”
On March 31, the two were released but placed under house arrest.
Last week, the Tate brothers were charged with rape, human trafficking, and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women. The two maintain their innocence.
Tate has been accused of rape in 2015, when two women pressed charges, but the case was later dropped.
