The Roman Colosseum Wanted $150 Million To Host Mark Zuckerberg Vs Elon Musk Fight, Dana White Claims

Dana White has revealed just how expensive it would have been to stage a fight between Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk at one of the most famous landmarks in the world. Speaking after UFC Fight Night on 20 June, White said the Roman Colosseum wanted around $150 million to host the proposed bout between the two tech billionaires, a figure that works out at roughly £118 million (£89.14 million).

The fight itself was one of the most talked-about ideas in combat sports back in 2023, with White saying at the time that the talks were very real. Although the contest never materialised, White's latest comments have offered a fresh look at just how far discussions had gone behind the scenes.

More than just a novelty, the idea of Zuckerberg and Musk fighting inside the Colosseum would have linked one of the sport's strangest modern what-ifs with one of the oldest symbols of combat in history.

Colosseum's Huge Price Attached

White was asked after UFC Fight Night whether a modern event inside the Roman Colosseum was possible, and his answer quickly turned to the negotiations he once held over the Zuckerberg-Musk bout. According to White, the venue was central to the plan while discussions were taking place in 2023, but the cost of making it happen was enormous.

'It's impossible, because I was negotiating the deal with Zuckerberg and Musk. That was real. I was literally in my backyard for two weeks negotiating that fight, and they wanted the Colosseum,' White said.

'The Colosseum wanted something like $150 million to do it there, which that money would go into a fund that restores all the iconic places in Italy. The Colosseum would take Zuckerberg fighting Musk to happen, because those people were going to put up the money for the Colosseum,' he added.

The figure alone explains why the event never got beyond the planning stage. The Colosseum, completed in 80 AD, is one of the world's most protected historic sites and remains closely tied to the image of gladiatorial combat. Hosting a modern cage fight there would have created an extraordinary visual, but it would also have meant working around the limits of a fragile and tightly protected monument.

Even if the money had been found, the practical side of putting on a live UFC-style event in that setting would have been difficult. A venue like the Colosseum is not built for modern production demands such as large-scale lighting rigs, television broadcast equipment, crews and the rest of the infrastructure that comes with a major combat sports event.

White did not go into those details in full during his remarks, but the cost and restrictions make it easy to see why the plan never became reality.

White, however, made it clear that he would still be interested if someone ever did want to fund a UFC event there. When asked if he would run a show at the Colosseum if the money was available, he kept it short.

'Anybody that wants to put up the money for UFC to fight in the Colosseum, I'm in.'

Zuckerberg Still Tied to UFC

While the Colosseum idea never got off the ground, the bigger reason fans never saw the event was that the Zuckerberg-Musk fight itself eventually collapsed.

The contest had been teased for months and generated constant discussion both inside and outside MMA circles, but it never moved beyond the talking stage.

Zuckerberg later suggested that Musk was not serious enough about making the fight happen, and that effectively brought the idea to a halt.

That does not mean Zuckerberg drifted away from the UFC. In fact, his ties to the promotion have only grown stronger since then. In 2025, the UFC and Meta entered a long-term partnership, with the company becoming the promotion's first fan technology partner.

It was another sign that Zuckerberg's interest in the sport had moved well beyond simply being a spectator or a celebrity name attached to a fantasy bout.

That relationship has continued to expand this year. Earlier in 2026, the UFC and Meta agreed a naming rights deal that changed the name of the UFC Apex to the Meta Apex. Meta's technology is also expected to play a role in the promotion's new rankings system, which is moving away from a media-voted format and towards a data-driven model.

From Monday, the UFC will begin transitioning to that new system, and Meta's AI is believed to be part of the process. So while Zuckerberg never got to step into a UFC-backed event against Musk, he remains involved with the company in a very different way.