Mark Zuckerberg’s enthusiasm for mixed martial arts has moved beyond a personal hobby and into the C-suite. According to accounts from a forthcoming memoir by Nick Clegg, the company’s former president of global affairs, the Meta chief invited senior executives to practice MMA during a management offsite—turning a leadership retreat into a grappling lab.
The anecdote, which has surfaced in early coverage of Clegg’s book, includes a playful but intense sparring round between Clegg and veteran policy executive Joel Kaplan. One moment reportedly involved the “mount,” a dominant jiu-jitsu position that puts one person seated squarely over another’s torso—an undeniably close-quarters maneuver for a corporate setting.
Inside the offsite sparring session
Bringing MMA pads to a leadership offsite isn’t a typical CEO move, but it aligns with Zuckerberg’s very public embrace of combat sports. He has trained Brazilian jiu-jitsu, posted footage working with elite fighters, and even stood on tournament podiums. For an executive team accustomed to slide decks and whiteboards, the invitation to glove up was a clear cultural signal: prepare for pressure, adapt quickly, and stay calm under stress.
To the uninitiated, the mount position can look theatrical or uncomfortably intimate. In practice, it’s just a staple of grappling—a way to control an opponent, conserve energy, and set up escapes or submissions. As a metaphor for leadership, it’s telling: control doesn’t always come from brute force; it often comes from balance, leverage, and timing.
Why a CEO would favor MMA over golf
Executive offsites traditionally rely on golf or dinners to build rapport. Combat sports push a different skill set. Performance psychologists point to stress inoculation—exposing people to manageable stressors in controlled environments—as a way to improve decision-making under pressure. MMA encapsulates that idea: there is immediate feedback, visible progress, and no way to outsource accountability.
There’s also a practical appeal. Martial arts deliver measurable improvements in cardio, grip strength, and reaction time. The American College of Sports Medicine notes that high-intensity interval training and resistance work can elevate executive function and mood. For leaders navigating AI rollouts, regulatory scrutiny, and market volatility, those marginal gains compound.
Zuckerberg’s personal brand amplifies the message. He’s publicly tested himself with demanding workouts and trained alongside champions from the UFC. In a sector where founders are expected to operationalize speed, focus, and resilience, combat training becomes a visible shorthand for those priorities.
Culture, optics, and HR realities
Inviting executives to an MMA session inevitably raises questions about inclusion and consent. Not everyone wants—nor should feel obliged—to grapple with colleagues. The Society for Human Resource Management advises clear opt-in policies, professional supervision, and explicit waivers when companies sponsor contact activities. What reads as team-building to some can feel exclusionary or risky to others.
There’s also reputational calculus. Tech leaders have already flirted with combat-sport theatrics—remember the public chatter about a hypothetical cage match between high-profile founders. When the line blurs between performance and practice, organizations must ensure activities aren’t trivializing safety or pressuring employees to participate to signal loyalty.
From a risk perspective, proper coaching matters. Contact drills can be scaled: positional sparring and technique flows minimize impact while maintaining the learning benefit. Companies that have invested in on-site fitness and wellness programs—common across large tech campuses—know the playbook: credentialed trainers, voluntary participation, and alternatives for those who prefer non-contact options.
A window into leadership at Meta
Meta’s culture has long prized intensity—move fast, measure everything, and iterate. MMA fits neatly within that schema. The sport forces clarity: there’s immediate testing, objective outcomes, and continuous adaptation. Whether you’re escaping side control or shipping a product, feedback loops are tight and unforgiving.
It’s also a retention play. The corporate wellness economy is a multibillion-dollar market, and executive teams increasingly see physical practice as part of leadership development. While not every company will swap putting greens for takedown drills, the trend line is clear: experiential, high-engagement activities are supplanting passive team bonding.
The takeaway
By inviting top lieutenants onto the mats, Zuckerberg wasn’t just sharing a hobby—he was modeling a philosophy of pressure-tested leadership. The anecdote from Clegg’s forthcoming book, echoed in coverage by business outlets, is more than a quirky offsite story. It’s a case study in how modern tech chiefs are recasting executive culture: less clubhouse, more dojo, with all the upside—and responsibility—that implies.