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Zuckerberg brings back the floating battle barge to spar with UFC fighter Merab Dvalishvili on a lake

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Pete Syme

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A collage shows Mark Zuckerberg and Merab Dvalishvili shirtless and sparring on a barge floating in the middle of a lake.

Mark Zuckerberg and Merab Dvalishvili sparred in the middle of a lake.

Mark Zuckerberg

Mark Zuckerberg has brought back a familiar pastime: fighting UFC stars on a barge floating in the middle of a lake.

In a Sunday Instagram post, he shared a video of himself sparring with Merab Dvalishvili, a Georgian fighter who won the 2024 UFC Bantamweight title.

An array of camera angles, including drone shots, show the pair punching, kicking, and practicing takedowns — set to the instrumental of "Can't Hold Us" by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis.

At one point, Zuckerberg's wife, Priscilla Chan, rides past on a canoe. "Merab made me take my shirt off because it looks more 'fighter,'" he tells her.

The Meta CEO last shared a video fighting on the floating barge almost three years ago, when he sparred with two other UFC champions: Alexander Volkanovski and Israel Adesanya.

Zuckerberg began training in jiu-jitsu during the COVID-19 pandemic and said in 2023 he practices three to four times a week. Over the years, he's struck up friendships with a number of professional fighters.

Zuckerberg was pictured in Volkanovski's corner during a UFC bout in 2024, but it became a meme as he awkwardly nodded, offering a hand while other cornermen passed items.

Mark Zuckerberg

Mark Zuckerberg often makes appearances at UFC events, and sometimes they become memes. 

Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images

Jon Jones, the former UFC light-heavyweight and heavyweight champion, commented on Sunday's post: "Wow, you look great Zucky. Can definitely tell you've been grinding."

The top comment, with over 33,000 likes, joked: "Elon been real quiet lately," referring to Zuckerberg's feud with Musk. In 2023, Zuckerberg agreed to Musk's challenge for a fight, and Rome's Colosseum was touted as a venue, but the fight never came to fruition.

However, combat sports can be a dangerous hobby, especially for the boss of a $1.5 trillion company.

Zuckerberg tore his ACL while sparring in 2023, and Meta's financial filings warn as a risk factor that, "Mr. Zuckerberg and certain other members of management participate in various high-risk activities, such as combat sports, extreme sports, and recreational aviation, which carry the risk of serious injury and death."

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A headshot of Insider's Pete Syme

Pete Syme

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Pete Syme is an aviation reporter for Business Insider, based in London.He writes about all things related to the industry, such as flight diversions, aviation safety, airline updates, travel tips, plane tours, and aviation leaders.Pete has appeared on BBC News to discuss a Heathrow Airport closure and on Sky News to talk about Boeing.Before joining Business Insider in 2022, he graduated with an MA in Newspaper Journalism from City, University of London. While getting his BA in English from the University of Exeter, he was the award-winning deputy editor of the student newspaper, Exeposé.You can get in touch by emailing [email protected] or via Signal @syme.99.