Mark Zuckerberg’s MMA obsession appears to be getting even more serious, with the Meta chief recently putting in rounds against former UFC champion Merab Dvalishvili.
The unusual training session quickly spread online after Zuckerberg posted footage showing the pair exchanging strikes and grappling on a massive barge floating on Lake Tahoe.
It was hardly a low-key workout. Cameras, drones and onlookers surrounded the floating sparring setup, capturing the action from several angles as Zuckerberg tested himself against one of MMA’s best-known bantamweights.
Sparring session: Mark Zuckerberg trains with ex-UFC champion Merab Dvalishvili
In one lighter moment from the video, Zuckerberg’s wife, Priscilla Chan, can be seen paddling by in a canoe as the session unfolds nearby.
“Merab made me take my shirt off because it looks more fighter,” Zuckerberg joked while sharing the footage.
Dvalishvili, who captured UFC gold in 2024 and remains the top-ranked contender in the bantamweight division, appeared to dial back the intensity while working with the tech billionaire.
Still, Zuckerberg showed why his combat sports training has drawn attention in recent years, displaying sharp striking and solid wrestling before eventually sending Dvalishvili tumbling into the water.
It’s the second time the duo have sparred together, having previously gone through the rounds in December 2025.
The billionaire regularly trains in MMA and jiujitsu, leading to UFC chief Dana White once claiming that the Meta boss ‘could beat the s*** out of you’.
Greatest hits: Zuckerberg and the UFC star traded blows on a giant barge on Lake Tahoe
The incident comes after Zuckerberg denied claims that his yacht ignored a distress call from a nearby vessel that was stranded in Alaskan waters.
The Meta boss’s representatives spoke out after it emerged that the 21ft skiff was rescued by a much smaller boat after it ran out of fuel between Juneau and Petersburg.
Zuckerberg’s $300million yacht Launchpad was in the vicinity on August 3, although the billionaire was not aboard at the time, according to his spokesman.
The skiff initially contacted the Coast Guard for assistance, but officials determined it was not in distress and issued a marine assistance broadcast on its behalf.
The Wilderness Legacy, a cruise ship operated by UnCruise Adventures, answered the call, despite Zuckerberg’s 387ft yacht being closer.
However, Brian Baker, a spokesman for Zuckerberg, told Forbes that Launchpad was operating on a different radio channel at the time the assistance request was made.
Baker added that by the time the crew reviewed the broadcast, another vessel had already begun responding.
Yachts of trouble: The crew on Zuckerberg’s boat Launchpad is accused of ignoring a distress call from a neighboring vessel
Michael Love said on Bluesky that he and his son were aboard the Wilderness Legacy when it helped rescue the stranded skiff.
Love wrote that the ship’s captain announced Zuckerberg’s yacht had repeatedly failed to respond to calls for assistance.
‘There was near-unanimous booing when the captain announced this,’ he wrote.
According to vessel-tracking data cited by the Alaska Beacon, the cruise ship maneuvered around the yacht before towing the skiff to Farragut Bay.
Love later responded to Baker’s claim that the yacht had not intentionally ignored the assistance request.
‘I do think it’s notable that they don’t really dispute any part of the story except to claim that they never received the call rather than ignored it intentionally.
‘I wish they’d offered an explanation as to why their boat stopped at the moment it did,’ he wrote.
According to Lasicilia, US regulations require mariners to assist a vessel only when it is ‘in danger of being lost.’
Since the Coast Guard determined the situation was not a distress emergency, the assessment appears to support Launchpad’s position in this case.
The Meta boss purchased the yacht in 2024, according to the Seattle Times.
