Did you know Mark Zuckerberg is a competitive blue belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu?
For the uninitiated, Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) is a ground-based martial art. Instead of punching and kicking your opponent, you wrestle them, take them down, pin them underneath you, and submit them using joint-locks or chokes.
So what’s a 40-year-old nerd like Mark Zuckerberg grappling on the mats — training with elite fighters like Mikey Musumeci, Israel Adesanya, and Alex Volkanovski?
In this article, I’ll tell the story of Mark Zuckerberg’s jiu-jitsu journey and why he loves the sport so much.
If the 2nd richest man in the world trains BJJ, then you should at least give it a shot!
NOTE: This article was NOT written or researched using AI. I listened to hours of podcasts to write this story. Enjoy!
Mark Zuckerberg Jiu-Jitsu: Table Of Contents
- Mark Zuckerberg’s BJJ Stats: By The Numbers
- From CEO Stress to BJJ Obsession: How Mark Found His Escape
- “Where Has This Been My Whole Life?” — Why Zuck Is Addicted to BJJ
- The Disguised Billionaire: How Mark Shocked His First BJJ Tournament
- The “Killer Nerd” Fighting Style: Breaking Down Mark’s BJJ Game
- When Mark Tore His ACL (And Why His Wife Demanded He Keep Training)
- “You Look Like a Jiu-Jitsu Guy Now” — Mark’s Shocking Physical Change
- Inside Mark’s Arsenal: The BJJ Gear a Billionaire Chooses to Roll In
- If the World’s Richest “Nerd” Trains BJJ, Why Not You? (Final Thoughts & Discussion)
Mark Zuckerberg’s BJJ Stats: By The Numbers |
|
|---|---|
| Name | Mark Zuckerberg |
| Age | 41 |
| Date of Birth | May 14, 1987 |
| Height | 5’7″ |
| Hometown | White Plains, NY, USA |
| Weight | 155 lbs |
| Years Training BJJ | 3 |
| Jiu-Jitsu Belt | Blue |
| BJJ Weight Class | Light (149-162 lbs) |
| BJJ Coach | Dave Camarillo |
| BJJ Team | Guerrilla Jiu-Jitsu |
| Competition Gold Medals | 1 |
From CEO Stress to BJJ Obsession: How Mark Found His Escape
As soon as Mark Zuckerberg wakes up, he’s flooded with hundreds of messages.
None of them are good. They’re all about new problems going on in companies.
(What a great way to start each morning, eh?)
So the first thing he does is read these messages. And then, he has to do something physical to prepare his mind and body for the day.
Before starting BJJ, he used to run a lot to get his exercise in. But the problem with running, he says, is “you can think a lot.”
During COVID, Mark decided he wanted to start his day with a physically engaging and intellectual activity: something where you can’t think while you’re doing it. He wanted a form of exercise that required complete concentration.
He took up surfing and foiling. And through the surfing community (who’re also obsessed with rash guards, like no-gi BJJ players), Mark was introduced to mixed-martial arts (MMA) and jiu-jitsu.
At first, he wanted to stick with just striking. But he wanted to spar without damaging his brain with punches and head kicks. Mark’s goal is to run Meta for a long time, so he can’t afford too many strikes to the head.
In his late 30s, in the summer of 2022, Mark Zuckerberg started training BJJ.
He began training under Dave Camarillo of Guerrilla Jiu-Jitsu in San Jose, California.
Five minutes into his first jiu-jitsu class, he has hooked.
Mark Zuckerberg training with Marcelo Garcia and coach Dave Camarillo
“Where has this been my whole life?” he thought.
(I had the same thought when my coach Ritchie taught me the armbar during my first intro class)
Today, Mark claims that BJJ is the best sport.
When asked how he got into it, Mark will tell you this:
“The question isn’t how did I get into it. The question is how did I not know about this until now?”
“Where Has This Been My Whole Life?” — Why Zuck Is Addicted to BJJ
So, why does Mark Zuckerberg love BJJ so much?
Why does he feel like it’s something that’s been missing his whole life?
There are three primary reasons why he considered BJJ a “missing piece of the puzzle” of this life — a puzzle that is now complete by training every day.
1. The Welcoming BJJ Community
First, Mark Zuckerberg was shocked at how welcoming the BJJ community is.
It’s not a jock community full of muscle-dragging, steroid-infused meatheads.
Instead, you’ll find more nerds than stereotypical “tough guys” at most BJJ gyms. Guys like Mikey Musumeci, for example.
Mark Zuckerberg and Mikey Musumeci training in the gi
After starting to train BJJ, Mark invited all of his friends to start. And every single person he’s introduced to BJJ loves it and still trains.
He even built a small garage gym — his own “fight club,” if you will.
Mark loves having an activity with his male friends where they wrestle and engage in rough-and-tumble play.
He loves it so much that his kids started training jiu-jitsu!
2. A Return To Healthy Masculinity
Second, Mark says BJJ brings him back into a more masculine, primal energy.
Mark’s been surrounded by women his whole life. Growing up, it was his sisters. Today, it’s his wife and daughters.
In addition, he claims corporate culture has become somewhat “neutered” and “emasculated” — lacking a healthy masculine energy.
Mark Zuckerberg training MMA with Israel Adesanya and Alex Volkanovski
When you’re running a company, an overly feminine corporate culture isn’t comfortable with you crushing your competition. But when you’re fighting, that energy is embraced.
Mark loves the masculine energy of training BJJ, an element that’s lacking in the other aspects of his life.
He enjoys the feeling of being a bit tired after training — like he’s gotten that “side” of him out of his system after he’s done grappling.
3. Direct Application to Business & Life
Lastly, Mark appreciates how training BJJ benefits the other parts of his life.
The feedback loop in business is long. It takes Mark years to build successful products.
But in BJJ, the feedback loop is quick. You can instantly encounter — and solve — problems in a matter of seconds.
He loves martial arts because it takes the edge off things. After training, nothing else will stress you out that much.
Mark Zuckerberg training in no-gi in an Origin rash guard
How can a mean email stress you out after having a 200lb sweaty man trying to choke you unconscious just a few hours earlier?
Zuck understands that BJJ is a form of self-expression. After all, it’s a martial art.
It’s not just about fighting. It’s about bringing your unique personality and style to the fight.
Ultimately, Zuckerberg finds many parallels to life and philosophy in BJJ. It teaches you about the flow and momentum of things in an embodied, physical way.
And after he’s done rolling, he is ready to go and solve the problems of the day.
The Disguised Billionaire: How Mark Shocked His First BJJ Tournament
After Mark got all of his friends to start training BJJ, one of his friends told Mark that he was going to enter a competition.
Initially, Mark thought, “good luck with that.” He had zero desire to compete himself.
His friend competed in the tournament and did well.
And since Mark could beat his friend in sparring, he decided to sign up for a BJJ competition himself.
Mark entered his first BJJ competition on May 6th, 2023. The competition was held in Woodside, California, He competed in both gi and no-gi jiu-jitsu.
As a disguise, he registered under his first and middle names. He arrived to the competition wearing sunglasses, a hat, and a COVID mask so nobody could tell it was the Mark Zuckerberg.
It wasn’t until they called his name that he took off his disguise.
His opponent freaked out. “Is that Mark Zuckerberg?!”
Mark proceeded to win his first BJJ competition match.
He would fight in several more matches that day.
Just like Tom Hardy — who also competed in BJJ competitions — Mark ended up with gold and silver medal finishes in the Master’s 3 white belt division.
His friends say that’s the “real” Mark when he’s competing in BJJ.
Mark eventually plans to do more BJJ competitions. He also aspires to fight in an MMA match, where both striking and grappling are allowed.
He had originally planned to fight Elon Musk in a cage match in Rome, but the fight fell apart.
He was even rumored to be the wealthy anonymous donor who gifted 3 million dollars to Craig Jones to fund the Craig Jones Invitational, but those rumors have not been confirmed.
Mark loves that you can train and compete in BJJ into your 40s and beyond.
There aren’t many other sports where you can start training in your late 30s and 40s and still be competitive.
When asked if he was nervous about competing, Mark said no.
In his worldview, part of learning is failing. And he’s failed hundreds of times before in business.
By now, he no longer fears failure or embarrassing himself.
He knows that he who is not afraid to fail — or is afraid, but proceeds anyway — is the person who will eventually win.
The “Killer Nerd” Fighting Style: Breaking Down Mark’s BJJ Game
Mark prefers an MMA-style BJJ game. He likes no-gi more because it more closely approximates MMA.
As for BJJ positions, Mark likes to get on top and stay on top. He plays a pressure-based game, like a miniature Jocko Willink.
You can see him sparring BJJ with Lex Fridman here:
His game plan is simple: take you down, get your back, and hunt for the rear-naked choke.
From a top position, he also likes the north-south choke.
From the standing position, Mark likes the single-leg takedown. He also likes to take the back from the single leg.
He prefers back-takes and rear-naked chokes over joint locks (like the armbar) because he doesn’t like hurting people — and chokes are safer than joint locks.
When Mark Tore His ACL (And Why His Wife Demanded He Keep Training)
In November of 2023, Mark tore his ACL sparring while training for a competitive MMA fight.
The injury happened at the end of a 2-hour training session. He threw a leg kick, and his training partner checked the kick.
Mark leaned back and torqued his planted leg awkwardly, tearing his ACL.
He attributes the injury to overtraining. He wasn’t balancing his martial arts and strength training properly.
He’d also done a hard leg workout the day before, and thinks that he was pushing himself too hard.
Mark took his physiotherapy and rehab very seriously, looking into training like Knees Over Toes. He enjoyed the sensation of getting better week over week during his rehab.
Today, instead of just pure strength training, half of his weight training sessions are purely physio exercises and joint rehab-related exercises.
When he was a beginner in striking and grappling, he tried to “muscle” through everything.
Now, he knows better. He focuses much more on proper technique and being “effortless.”
When he had injured his ACL, he expected his wife, Priscilla, to be furious.
But she wasn’t mad about the injury.
However, she told Mark that he had better go back to training once his knee healed.
Why?
“Because he’s so much better to be around when he’s training.”
Today, in the summer of 2025, Mark is back on the mats. And you can expect to see him compete again soon!
“You Look Like a Jiu-Jitsu Guy Now” – Mark’s Shocking Physical Change
So, how has training BJJ changed Mark’s appearance?
Mark looks quite different in August 2022 (right when he started training) and in January 2025 (when he had been training for a few years):
Mark Zuckerberg’s physical transformation before and after training BJJ — from August 2022 to January 2025
When Mark walked into Joe Rogan’s studio for their second podcast, Joe said, “You look different. You look thicker. You look like a jiu-jitsu guy now. Your neck is bigger!”
Zuckerberg emphasizes the importance of having a strong neck for training BJJ. He uses the Iron Neck to strengthen and enlarge his neck specifically for grappling.
Like Mark, you might look like a nerd when you first start. But when you start training BJJ, that changes.
Inside Mark’s Arsenal: The BJJ Gear a Billionaire Chooses to Roll In
What BJJ gear does Mark Zuckerberg like to roll in?
Here’s a quick breakdown of his favorite gi and no-gi gear.
Mark Zuckerberg’s Gi BJJ Gear
When he’s rolling in the gi, Mark sports a Shoyoroll-sponsored Guerrilla Jiu-Jitsu Gi.
Mark Zuckerberg getting his blue belt in BJJ in July of 2023
He’s also competed in a white Gold BJJ Aeroweave gi — one of the best gis I’ve tested.
Mark gets an A+ for his taste in BJJ gis.
Mark Zuckerberg’s No-Gi BJJ Gear
When he’s rolling in no-gi, Mark wears a Guerrilla Jiu Jitsu rash guard. For shorts, he sports a pair of Engage kickboxing shorts.
Martial arts gear adds another layer of self-expression to the sport. Mark keeps his BJJ gear minimalist — but high-quality and stylish.
If the World’s Richest “Nerd” Trains BJJ, Why Not You? (Final Thoughts & Discussion)
What advice does Mark have for people who want to start training BJJ as an adult?
- Be willing to get beaten up — a lot.
- It will train your ability to push through difficult situations, making you stronger both on and off the mats.
- Your ability to take punishment will turn you into someone who can get stuff done. And that’s what separates winners from losers.
Mark Zuckerberg’s jiu-jitsu story shows that BJJ isn’t just for tough jocks.
It’s the perfect sport for nerds, intellectuals, business leaders. You can start training at ANY age.
The mental benefits, physical conditioning, and community aspect make it the perfect pursuit for those looking for a genuine adventure in their life.
So, my dear reader, ask yourself this…
If the CEO of a billion-dollar company can find the time for BJJ training, what’s YOUR excuse?
And if you’re looking to start training BJJ, I wrote the book BJJ For Beginners: How To Level-Up From Newbie To Confident Grappler Even If You’re Starting From Scratch for you.
It ain’t be “Like Mike.”
It’s more like be “Like Mark.”
I hope to see YOU on the mats someday.
Happy rolling. 🤙
Tsavo Neal
Tsavo is the founder of BJJ Equipment, author of BJJ For Beginners, creator of the BJJ Missions app, and a brown belt instructor at InFighting. He launched BJJ Equipment to help grapplers at every belt level train smarter, make faster progress, and find the best gear for their game.