Mark Zuckerberg poses with UFC president Dana White at a UFC Fight Night event.
Jeff Botari | Ultimate Fighting Championship | Getty Images
Dana White, Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO, is also Donald TrumpTwo weeks before the new administration takes office, he will join the board of directors of Facebook parent company Meta.
Yuan CEO Mark ZuckerbergWhite, who had a particularly tense relationship with Trump during his first term as president, said in a Facebook post on Monday that White had built the UFC into “the most valuable, fastest-growing, and most popular franchise in the world.” “One of the top sports companies”.
“I admire him as an entrepreneur and his ability to build such a beloved brand,” Zuckerberg said in the post.
Zuckerberg Practice mixed martial arts In recent years, he has competed in multiple UFC events, highlighting his passion for combat sports.
In 2023, Zuckerberg tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) during boxing training. mixed martial arts. That year, Zuckerberg and Tesla CEO Musk Both sides traded verbal barbs and said they were willing to fight each other in a match White helped organize. But Zuckerberg later explain The battle ended because Musk wasn’t “serious.”
On election night in November, with victory in sight, White appeared onstage with Trump.
“This is what happens when a machine follows you,” White said after Trump’s introduction. “What you’ve seen over the last few years, that’s what it’s been like. There’s no stopping him, he keeps going, he doesn’t give up, he’s the toughest hard-working guy I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Last month, yuan Confirmed The company has donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund. Zuckerberg is also one of several technology executives visited After the election, Trump vacationed at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida.
Musk has had his own recent connection to the UFC. In 2021, Musk join in The board of directors of Ari Emanuel’s Endeavor Group, which owns the UFC through TKO Group Holdings. He quit after a year.
Other new members of Meta’s board include John Elkann, chief executive of Italian holding company Exor and former Microsoft Zuckerberg said Charlie Songhurst, the company’s head of strategy.
Zuckerberg added that Elkann is chairman of Exor’s car companies Stellantis and Ferrari, while Songhurst served on Meta’s advisory group last year, helping the company develop its artificial intelligence and technology strategy.
“We have tremendous opportunities in the future of artificial intelligence, wearables and social media, and our board of directors will help us realize our vision,” Zuckerberg said.
