Mark Zuckerberg’s burgeoning MMA career has been dealt a major setback after the Meta CEO sustained a severe knee injury during a recent sparring session.
Zuckerberg took to Instagram on Saturday to reveal that he tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) while training and had to undergo surgery to repair it.
“Tore my ACL sparring and just got out of surgery to replace it,” he wrote. “Grateful for the doctors and team taking care of me.”
The tech tycoon had been actively preparing for his first amateur MMA fight scheduled for early 2024, with his eyes set on a professional debut later that year. However, the ACL tear has completely derailed those plans for now.
“I was deep in training for my first fight next year, but this injury changes everything,” said a crestfallen Zuckerberg. “I’m going to be out of commission for a while.”
Over the last year, Zuckerberg had immersed himself in MMA training, even winning medals at a Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournament. But this severe knee injury deals a huge blow to his fighting ambitions.
While the timeline for his recovery is still unknown, Zuckerberg has vowed to do everything necessary to get back to 100% health and resume his MMA dreams.
“This is a big setback, but I’m not giving up. I will be back stronger,” he stated.
For now, the MMA world will have to wait a bit longer to witness Zuckerberg’s debut in the cage. But if his determination is any indicator, this is just a minor roadblock in his pursuit of excellence in the sport.