Mark Zuckerberg has taken his mixed martial arts training to the next level after sparring former UFC champion Merab Dvalishvili.
In viral footage shared by the Meta boss, Zuckerberg and the star traded blows while fighting on a giant barge on Lake Tahoe.
Zuckerberg made sure that an array of videographers, drone operators and friends were watching, with multiple angles of the sparring rounds captured on video.
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Spar day: Mark Zuckerberg training with ex-UFC champion Merab Dvalishvili
At one point during the footage, Zuckerberg’s wife Priscilla Chan rides past on a canoe.
‘Merab made me take my shirt off because it looks more fighter,’ Zuckerberg said.
Dvalishvili, who previously won the UFC title in 2024 and remains the number one contender in the bantamweight division, was clearly taking it easy on the Meta boss.
Zuckerberg, however, who has made a habit of training with some of the most elite mixed martial arts fighters in the world, did showcase his impressive striking and wrestling skills after throwing Dvalishvili into the water.
It’s the second time the duo have sparred together, having previously gone through the rounds in December 2025.
The billionaire regularly trains in MMA and jiujitsu, leading to UFC chief Dana White once claiming that the Meta boss ‘could beat the s*** out of you’.
Greatest hits: Zuckerberg and the UFC star traded blows on a giant barge on Lake Tahoe
The incident comes after Zuckerberg denied claims that his yacht ignored a distress call from a nearby vessel that was stranded in Alaskan waters.
The Meta boss’s representatives spoke out after it emerged that the 21ft skiff was rescued by a much smaller boat after it ran out of fuel between Juneau and Petersburg.
Zuckerberg’s $300million yacht Launchpad was in the vicinity on August 3, although the billionaire was not aboard at the time, according to his spokesman.
The skiff initially contacted the Coast Guard for assistance, but officials determined it was not in distress and issued a marine assistance broadcast on its behalf.
The Wilderness Legacy, a cruise ship operated by UnCruise Adventures, answered the call, despite Zuckerberg’s 387ft yacht being closer.
However, Brian Baker, a spokesman for Zuckerberg, told Forbes that Launchpad was operating on a different radio channel at the time the assistance request was made.
Baker added that by the time the crew reviewed the broadcast, another vessel had already begun responding.
Yachts of trouble: The crew on Zuckerberg’s boat Launchpad is accused of ignoring a distress call from a neighboring vessel
Michael Love said on Bluesky that he and his son were aboard the Wilderness Legacy when it helped rescue the stranded skiff.
Love wrote that the ship’s captain announced Zuckerberg’s yacht had repeatedly failed to respond to calls for assistance.
‘There was near-unanimous booing when the captain announced this,’ he wrote.
According to vessel-tracking data cited by the Alaska Beacon, the cruise ship maneuvered around the yacht before towing the skiff to Farragut Bay.
Love later responded to Baker’s claim that the yacht had not intentionally ignored the assistance request.
‘I do think it’s notable that they don’t really dispute any part of the story except to claim that they never received the call rather than ignored it intentionally.
‘I wish they’d offered an explanation as to why their boat stopped at the moment it did,’ he wrote.
According to Lasicilia, US regulations require mariners to assist a vessel only when it is ‘in danger of being lost.’
Since the Coast Guard determined the situation was not a distress emergency, the assessment appears to support Launchpad’s position in this case.
The Meta boss purchased the yacht in 2024, according to the Seattle Times.
