Mark Zuckerberg bought all the tickets for the UFC tournament. The billionaire lit in an empty hall with his wife - even fighters criticize him
On the night of October 2, the UFC Fight Night 211 tournament took place, which did not attract much attention from fans. And I remember that Mark Zuckerberg came to see it. To do this, the billionaire bought all the tickets in the arena, and watched the fights with his wife in an empty hall.
The UFC tried to use the visit of a high-profile guest for PR in social networks, but Zuckerberg's arrival was not liked by fans and fighters.
p>How it happened
Shortly before UFC Fight Night 211, information appeared that the tournament would be closed to fans and journalists. And at a press conference after another Contender Series qualifier, UFC President Dana White confirmed that the tournament would be held without spectators. At the same time, the boss did not disclose the reasons why such a decision was made.
We just figured you guys were like that loaded lately that decided to give you a day off. You need to rest. Stay at home, order pizza, watch fights. Have fun, White joked.
The situation was clarified by Mackenzie Dern, a fighter who was supposed to fight in the main event of the tournament. The girl said that the UFC Apex arena was booked by billionaire Mark Zuckerberg.
I know that Mark Zuckerberg rented the entire event. I don’t know if he will be there alone, with his wife or friends. Or it will be a small party. In any case, I'm motivated because now even more people will watch our fight on TV, and we will put on a show, said Dern.
But White dismissed the rumors that the owner of the world's largest social networks bought out an entire arena to watch the tournament.
Mark Zuckerberg did not rent the UFC Apex. This is complete nonsense, White wrote on social networks.
It is not entirely clear why White wrote this, because on Sunday, fans saw what they were 1win-ozbekiston.com waiting for a half-empty UFC hall and a happy Zuckerberg and his wife. The billionaire rented the arena and watched the fights almost alone, while the UFC happily covered the visit of a big guest on social networks.
What attracted Zuckerberg is not the most high-profile UFC tournament? Probably, even such a rich man would not dare to rent an arena at a larger event. After all, Apex is the personal arena of the UFC, which has few spectator seats. It was actively used during the pandemic, allowing you to comply with security measures. There are only a few rows near the cage (usually VIP guests or people from the side of the fighters sit there), which is why the picture of Apex tournaments is criticized for being too intimate.
But another reason is possible in the main battle of the evening Chinese Yan Xiaonan fought against Mackenzie Dern. Fighters from China rarely lead tournaments, there are not so many of them in the UFC. Therefore, it is possible that Zuckerberg came to look at Xiaonan. After all, the wife of a millionaire Priscilla Chan also has Chinese roots. The girl was born in Massachusetts, but her parents were ethnic Chinese refugees who fled Vietnam on boats. Chan also follows Dern's performances, so the fight for the Zuckerberg family was as interesting as possible.
As for Mark, his visit to the MMA tournament is not an accident. Recently, the businessman took to social media to train with fellow Asian fighter Khai Wu. In the video, the billionaire showed his entire arsenal from strikes to grappling. At the same time, Zuckerberg's technique does not look funny. It is noticeable that the businessman is a beginner, but he trains hard.
