Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg found himself on the mat at his latest Brazilian jiu-jitsu competition in California. Zuckerberg reportedly lost his match against Jeff Ibrahim, a 40-year-old hospital storekeeper who had taken up the sport to bond with his son.
NPR reports that at a Brazilian jiu-jitsu match in California, Mark Zuckerberg, the founder and CEO of Facebook (now known as Meta), found himself on the mat. Jeff Ibrahim, a 40-year-old hospital storekeeper who took up martial arts to spend time with his son, competed against Zuckerberg, who is better known for his technological prowess than his martial arts abilities.
“The last person I expected to see across the mat was Mark Zuckerberg,” said Ibrahim, who began his jiu-jitsu journey last winter. “I just looked at him like he was just another person who wanted to compete in jiu-jitsu. The hardest part is stepping on a mat to compete in front of hundreds or thousands of people. I have to give him his props.
The match lasted about two minutes. At first, Zuckerberg took control of the fight by grabbing Ibrahim and dragging him around the mat. The situation changed, though, when Ibrahim was successful in putting Zuckerberg in an Ezekiel choke, which ultimately resulted in Zuckerberg’s loss.
“Basically, he pulled me and when I got on top of him, his legs were wrapped around me,” Ibrahim recalled. “His technique was decent. I was able to actually get out of his guard, or as we call it, passing the guard. I was able to get out of it, and then switch positions.”
Ibrahim went on to explain how he placed Zuckerberg in a chokehold. “I wasn’t going to let go of it until one, he tapped out, or two, the referees stopped me. I felt that he never tapped out. I was just in the zone. I mean, he was trying to get out of it, but like the grip that he had on me, it just kept getting looser and looser.”
The referee gave Ibrahim a tap on the back to end the match. Some sources claim that Zuckerberg lost consciousness due to the choke hold. A Facebook spokesperson clarified that “At no point during the competition was Mark knocked unconscious. That never happened.”
Ibrahim will never forget the competition, not just because of his unexpected opponent but also because both he and his son were awarded gold medals on the same day. “Seeing him win gold in his division was one of the best moments in my life,” Ibrahim said. “He works so hard with his jiu-jitsu. Now he knows how hard work pays off. Our relationship and bond is a lot stronger because of jiu-jitsu.”
Read more at NPR here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan
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