Mark Zuckerberg sparred former UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili on a giant barge in the middle of Lake Tahoe, according to viral footage shared by the Meta chief executive.
The video shows Zuckerberg and Dvalishvili trading blows across multiple rounds, filmed from several angles by videographers and drone operators the Meta boss had arranged to capture the session. 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," Zuckerberg said.
Dvalishvili won the UFC bantamweight title in 2024 and remains the division's number one contender. He appeared to take it easy on Zuckerberg during the session, though the Meta boss still showed off his striking and wrestling by throwing the fighter into the water.
Second Sparring Session
It was the second time the pair have sparred, after an earlier session in December 2025. Zuckerberg regularly trains in mixed martial arts and jiujitsu with elite fighters, a habit that once led UFC chief Dana White to say the billionaire "could beat the s*** out of you."
Yacht Denies Ignoring Distress Call
The sparring video emerged after Zuckerberg denied claims that his yacht, Launchpad, ignored a distress call from a stranded vessel in Alaskan waters. A 21ft skiff ran out of fuel between Juneau and Petersburg and was eventually rescued by a much smaller boat, according to reports.
Zuckerberg's spokesman, Brian Baker, said the $300million, 387ft Launchpad was in the vicinity on August 3 but that Zuckerberg was not aboard. The skiff had first contacted the Coast Guard, which determined it was not in distress and issued a marine assistance broadcast instead.
The Wilderness Legacy, a cruise ship operated by UnCruise Adventures, answered the call even though Launchpad was closer. Baker told Forbes that Launchpad had been operating on a different radio channel when the request went out, and that another vessel had already begun responding by the time the crew reviewed the broadcast.
Michael Love, who said on Bluesky that he and his son were aboard the Wilderness Legacy, wrote that the ship's captain announced Launchpad had repeatedly failed to respond to calls for assistance. "There was near-unanimous booing when the captain announced this," Love wrote. Vessel-tracking data cited by the Alaska Beacon showed the cruise ship maneuvering around the yacht before towing the skiff to Farragut Bay.
Responding to Baker's account, Love wrote: "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."
According to Lasicilia, US regulations require mariners to assist a vessel only when it is "in danger of being lost," and since the Coast Guard had ruled the situation was not a distress emergency, the finding appears to support Launchpad's position. Zuckerberg bought the yacht in 2024, according to the Seattle Times.
