Professional Fighters League talent Khai Wu has
firsthand knowledge of what it’s like to train alongside Meta
Platforms founder Mark Zuckerberg.
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Zuckerberg, who generated headlines for his interest in an MMA
fight against fellow mogul Elon Musk, crossed paths with Wu when he
went to train at Guerrilla Jiu-Jitsu in Pleasanton, California.
While Zuckerberg won’t be reaching the pinnacle of the sport
anytime soon, Wu believes it’s important to put his training into
the proper perspective.
“People are going, ‘Well, how good is he?’ It’s like if you compare
him to a UFC Fighter or PFL fighter, like what are you categorizing
them as? But someone as successful as him at his age getting into
martial arts, it’s like, man, he takes it very seriously,” Wu said
during a PFL media day. “It’s not a gimmick. It’s not like an act
where he’s doing this for fun and then you don’t expect to see him
in the next couple weeks. No, he’s been doing it for a while.”
Zuckerberg recently
suffered a torn ACL while training for what he characterized as
his first “competitive MMA fight.” Regardless of if or when that
comes to fruition, Wu considers the billionaire to be a martial
artist.
“He’s really disciplined and I’m not kidding when I say this,
(he’s) like a student of the game,” Wu said. “He asks questions.
You know, people want to say he’s not a real fighter, he’s not
fought. If you want to get technical, he’s a martial artist because
he trains a lot and this is his coffee in the mornings. He likes to
train.”
Wu will make his PFL debut at the
league’s championship event on Friday against Phil
Caracappa in a bantamweight bout on the preliminary card, which
airs on ESPN+ beginning at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT. .
“I didn’t expect to be on such a huge card right off the bat, but
honestly it feels like all the hard work through the years is
finally paying off,” he said. “So I’m really excited.
“I’m getting a really tough guy with some more fights than me, more
experienced, bigger, faster stronger. But you know, I like to think
that I rise to the occasion, and I think there might be some
underestimation on my opponent’s part, so maybe I capitalize and
look for a finish.”