Meta (META) co-founder and jujitsu devotee Mark Zuckerberg has all the characteristics of strong leaders and sports icons, says the king of the octagon and Meta board member, Dana White.

The buzz: In a feature profile for Time, the UFC boss said he admires Zuckerberg’s smarts, competitive juices, and ability to keep time on meetings. He placed Zuck — who posted his grueling Murph workout on Instagram on Monday — in the same category of leaders as President Trump, billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn, and NBA legend Michael Jordan.

“What I didn’t realize about Mark until I got on the board is Zuckerberg might be one of the biggest killers in the history of killers,” White said in the interview.

White joined Meta’s board in January 2025, a move seen at the time as cozying up to Trump. White is a longtime friend of the president. Zuckerberg can’t claim that closeness with the president, although the relationship between the two appears to have thawed.

Meta didn’t return Yahoo Finance’s request for comment.

What’s behind the comments: Zuck is sure showing that ruthless side this year.

Meta is cutting 10% of its employee count in a push to use artificial intelligence to drive better profits. The workforce cut equates to about 8,000 workers.

Furthermore, Meta aggressively raised its full-year capital expenditure forecast to a staggering $125 billion to $145 billion, up from its previous projection of $115 billion to $135 billion.

The move stunned Wall Street when it came on Meta’s late April earnings release. The stock was hammered and has since treaded water.

The bottom line: It’s unclear how White’s comments will play in the next Meta board meeting. A ruthless Zuck could pay dividends for Meta over time, although the market isn’t liking that approach right now.

Brian Sozzi is Yahoo Finance’s Executive Editor and a member of Yahoo Finance’s editorial leadership team. Follow Sozzi on X @BrianSozzi, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Tips on stories? Email brian.sozzi@yahoofinance.com.

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