First Israel Adesanya and now Alexander Volkanovski, the world of mixed martial arts has witnessed two major upsets, and fans have blamed Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg for it. While heading into UFC 293, Adesanya was the favorite to take the win home, and so was the case for Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298, both of them were handed losses.
Surprised by the turn of events, fans have come forward to blame Zuckerberg, claiming the champions’ prior meeting with the Meta CEO jinxed them.
Mark Zuckerberg Faces the Heat as Israel Adesanya and Alexander Volkanovski Are Handed Defeats
Considered two of the best pound-for-pound fighters, Adesanya and Volkanovski joined forces with Mark Zuckerberg last year during a training session at New Zealand’s renowned City Kickboxing gym. Being a huge MMA fan and a legitimate Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu blue belt, who even participated in some local matches, it wasn’t surprising to see the Meta CEO team up with the UFC champions. Mark Zuckerberg even commented to stress that it was an honor to train with the MMA icons.
Reasonably, the post of the three took over the internet, especially keeping in mind the post surfaced when speculations upsurged regarding a cage fight between Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk. And while that battle never came to fruition, unfortunately, things have gone south for the two UFC Champions. With Adesanya losing his middleweight championship to Sean Strickland and Volkanovski losing his featherweight title to Ilia Topuria, fans have blamed the billionaire for their losses, with one stating, “Two of the greatest champs down back to back“.
Reall
— Stormsid03 (@stormsid03) February 18, 2024
Zuck no luck
— thaven (@thavenNFT) February 18, 2024
Zuck Curse vs Drake Curse 🤝
— Pogful (@Pogful) February 18, 2024
Oh boy
— Vibesoner (@vibesoner) February 18, 2024
I didn't know that Zuck Curse was real.
— Siam Boy (@Aamtolzo) February 18, 2024
Sean Strickland, who went on to defend and lose his title to Dricuss Du Plessis at UFC 297, weighed on a theory as to why Israel Adesanya failed to rise to the occasion.
Sean Strickland on Why Israel Adesanya Failed to Secure a Win
While most expected Adesanya to pull off the win, it was Strickland who rose to the occasion and secured a victory before losing to Du Plessis in UFC 297. Reflecting on his win against Adesanya prior to losing his middleweight championship, the 32-year-old stated (via X),
“At some point, we all lose, You can be like ‘Izzy,’ laying in a bathtub of flower petals and you could have an entourage of people following you around, but at some point, sometimes I make fun of you for having s*x with your dog. Then you’re gonna crumble as a human being and get a DUI. That’s just not me because like, I’m level.”
However, unlike Israel Adesanya’s loss to Strickland, in the case of Alexander Volkanovski, it wasn’t that big of an upset, as his opponent Ilia Topuria was coming in with great momentum behind his back. Topuria, who was on a six-fight winning streak in the UFC with an overall record of 14-0 prior to this match, defeated Volkanovski with a second-round KO, bringing Spain its first UFC title.
