Mark Zuckerberg Refused to Train With Merab Dvalishvili Over Height
Mark Zuckerberg refused to train with Merab Dvalishvili when the Meta CEO was preparing for a possible fight with Elon Musk. The former UFC bantamweight champion told Helen Yee that Zuckerberg passed on the offer because he wanted taller sparring partners.
The remarks, shared through HelenYeeSports, add a new detail to one of MMA’s strangest celebrity storylines. They also explain why a high-level UFC wrestler was left on the sideline during the 2023 talks that briefly made a billionaire cage fight a global headline.
Dvalishvili said he texted Zuckerberg directly while those negotiations were still active. The Georgian is listed at 5-foot-6 by the UFC, a compact frame that has never stopped him from dragging larger bantamweights into grinding, high-volume fights.
“When he was in talks for the Elon Musk fight, I actually texted him and asked him, ‘If you want, I can come and train with you.’ He said, ‘Not right now. I’m sparring with taller guys. You’re shorter.’”
As Dvalishvili recalled it, the answer was about size, not reputation. Public listings have long placed Musk near 6-foot-2 and Zuckerberg several inches shorter, a gap that would have shown up immediately in range and clinch work.
Wanting taller partners would have been a standard camp choice if that matchup had been real. Dvalishvili’s wrestling, pace, and takedown pressure still would have offered elite work, just not the height Zuckerberg said he needed at the time.
The Musk-Zuckerberg idea exploded in June 2023 after Musk floated a cage fight and Zuckerberg answered with a public “Send Me Location.” Dana White was drawn into the talks, and possible sites from Las Vegas to Rome’s Colosseum were floated before the spectacle faded.
No contract, date, or official weigh-in ever followed. Zuckerberg later indicated that Musk did not appear to be taking the process seriously, and the celebrity bout never reached a cage.
The height issue did not end the relationship. Dvalishvili and Zuckerberg stayed in contact, and the Meta founder became one of the fighter’s most visible celebrity connections during his title run.
Zuckerberg was cageside at UFC 298 in February 2024, when Dvalishvili beat Henry Cejudo. The fighter later described him as an extra voice from seats near the Octagon, well after that first training request had been declined.
They eventually shared the mats anyway. The two have since sparred on camera, including a gym session in December 2025 and a second workout on a floating barge in August 2026.
Zuckerberg posted the barge footage as another round with Dvalishvili. By then, the Musk fight was years behind them, and the sessions looked more like a high-profile hobby than camp for a much taller opponent.
The reason Mark Zuckerberg refused to train with Merab Dvalishvili in 2023 looks smaller in hindsight. The same fighter he once called shorter later became a regular training partner and a familiar face in his MMA orbit.
Dvalishvili’s standing in the sport is why the old text still matters as news. He is a former UFC bantamweight champion, the No. 1 ranked 135-pounder, and No. 8 in the UFC men’s pound-for-pound rankings.
His professional record is 21-5. Dvalishvili won the title from Sean O’Malley at UFC 306 in September 2024, then defended it three times in 2025 against Umar Nurmagomedov, O’Malley in a rematch, and Cory Sandhagen.
Petr Yan ended that run at UFC 323 on Dec. 6, 2025, taking a five-round unanimous decision and reclaiming the belt. The loss snapped a 14-fight winning streak and set up the trilogy now booked for this fall.
That is the fight that actually moves the division. Dvalishvili meets Yan again at UFC 333 on Oct. 24 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, with the bantamweight championship at stake in their third meeting.
The Zuckerberg anecdote will not change that matchup. It does show how far Dvalishvili’s profile has traveled, from a high-volume champion at 135 pounds to a fighter whose private texts with a tech billionaire now make headlines.
No additional session between them has been announced before Abu Dhabi. Dvalishvili’s next measured test is Yan, not a celebrity sparring partner, and that is where the bantamweight title picture will be decided next.