Mark Zuckerberg’s presence at UFC Vegas 61 was difficult to ignore.
The Facebook czar was omnipresent figure on Saturday at the UFC APEX, as the UFC shut down the venue to the public with the exception of Zuckerberg and his cohorts, ultimately giving them a private show headlined by Yan Xiaonan’s narrow majority decision win over Mackenzie Dern.
The situation prompted quite a stir on social media, drawing both criticism, curiosity, and amusement from many within the MMA community. See how fighters reacted to Zuckerberg’s UFC APEX takeover below.
The best part about the ufc events live is the crowd going nutso like stay home bro wtf
— Al Iaquinta (@ALIAQUINTA) October 2, 2022
Yes, who of us hasn’t bought out an entire arena to watch athletes bludgeon themselves while we can’t be bothered to be among the unwashed masses?
I’d say for most of us the lap of luxury involves buying brown mustard. https://t.co/nfxK0WhjaJ— Nathan Quarry (@NateRockQuarry) October 2, 2022
That the UFC thinks this is a great marketing opportunity shows how out of touch they are.
I’m old enough to remember when the fighters were the main draw.
Not the promoter.
And certainly not a guest at the fights. https://t.co/nfxK0WhjaJ— Nathan Quarry (@NateRockQuarry) October 2, 2022
Mark zuckerberg was like big foot tonight
— Brian BOOM Kelleher (@brianboom135) October 2, 2022
Zuckermanberg Fighting Championships
— Al Iaquinta (@ALIAQUINTA) October 2, 2022
Had the @Facebook team at the Apex tonight for at @UFC. What a great group of people. They really enjoyed the fights and I could tell a lot of them train based on the questions they were asking. Thank you so much for coming..
— Reed Harris (@reedharrisufc) October 2, 2022