NEW YORK, August 7. /TASS/. US billionaire and celebrity entrepreneur Elon Musk is set to undergo a medical examination to determine whether he needs surgery ahead of his potential fight against Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Meta (prohibited in Russia as extremist).

The New York Times reported earlier that Musk and Zuckerberg were holding discussions about potentially staging a mixed martial arts (MMA) match-up within the framework of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Zuckerberg announced earlier in the day that he was ready for the bout and proposed August 26 as the date for the much-hyped encounter.

However, Musk wrote later on Monday on his X social network (formerly known as Twitter) that: "Exact date is still in flux. I’m getting an MRI of my neck & upper back tomorrow."

"May require surgery before the fight can happen. Will know this week," he added.

Information about the bout between the two Internet moguls in the United States went viral on social media early this summer after Zuckerberg announced a decision to launch Meta’s own text-based social media app, dubbed Project 92, to compete with the X social network (formerly known as Twitter).

On June 22, Zuckerberg accepted Musk’s challenge to square off in the MMA octagon in Las Vegas. Although weighing in at just 154 pounds, the 39-year-old Zuckerberg was reported earlier to be training in MMA and has also won a number of Jiu-Jitsu belts this year.

Elon Musk’s mother, Maye Musk, announced the following day that she put the kibosh on her son’s MMA bout. US celebrity entrepreneur and billionaire Musk reacted to his mother’s Tweet about the fight with a smiley face emoji.

UFC chief Dana White believes that the fight between Musk and Zuckerberg will eventually be organized and will be the most-viewed bout in the history of the sport.

Musk announced on June 29 that the bout could be hosted by the Roman Colosseum. The TMZ web portal said, citing sources, that the Italian Ministry of Culture allegedly offered the Colosseum arena for the brawl. However, a spokesman for the ancient monument and museum in the Italian capital told TASS later that these reports were not true.