TKO Group CEOP Ari Emanuel pitches Elon Musk on humanoid robot UFC fights

Ari Emanuel, the entertainment boss overseeing the WWE and UFC as CEO of TKO Group Holdings, has an eye on Elon Musk’s humanoid robots. According to him, the progress in hand movements between generations was unbelievable, and he would want to compete in UFC fights against the robots.

On the “Invest Like the Best with Patrick O’Shaughnessy,” Ari Emanuel said, “I believe in Elon Musk […] I came up to him, and I said, ‘I want to do UFC fights with the robots.”

He teased the idea of a fight between Chinese and American robots. The entertainment boss said that Musk dismissed the idea. Instead, the billionaire showed him robots that could throw punches and kicks.

Ari Emanuel proposes a new way for Musk to make money

In a new era of AI-generated content, Emanuel is leaning hard into live experiences, like food and art festivals and sporting events. He praised Musk for his work on the long list of innovative and AI-powered companies he leads.

“If I’m a betting man, I’m betting on that dude,” Emanuel said.

Emanuel made it clear that he’s no expert in the algorithms and data centers that make AI possible, but he does have knowledge in entertainment. He said he knows how to create “really great live events” and monetize them.

Previously, Emmanuel’s TodayTix Group partnered with more than 10,000 theaters, producers, and cultural institutions. It has more than 20 million members in the US, the United Kingdom, and Australia. 

Additionally, Emmanuel launched MARI and acquired art-fair and media company Frieze from Endeavor. MARI also bought IMG’s portfolio of international tennis events, which includes the Miami and Madrid Open tennis tournaments.

To that end, Emmanuel provides ways for Musk to make money beyond selling the robots. The billionaire declared that by 2040, there will be at least 10 billion humanoid robots priced between $20,000 and $25,000.

In contrast, Elon Musk stated that in the future, we won’t need jobs or money, and poverty will be eliminated. At the US-Saudi Investment Forum on Monday, where Musk sat on a panel with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Musk stated that money would “stop being relevant” due to the impact of AI.

Additionally, on Joe Rogan’s podcast, Musk said that when AI and robotics like Tesla’s Optimus eliminate all work and money, the government should hand out a universal income. To that end, it is unclear whether Musk wants to make money or get rid of it.

China’s humanoid robots hit the market as the US plans

As Elon Musk made plans to manufacture an army of Tesla bots in Silicon Valley this month, humanoid robots were already being produced and sold to consumers in China.

Chinese and US companies have begun a battle to build the world’s best bots. While it’s early days, experts say China is leading in the quantity of robots delivered to consumers, while America is ahead in the quality of robots demonstrated.

Recently, Musk bragged about Tesla’s Optimus bots at his company’s shareholder meeting. He outlined plans for a factory in Fremont that he said will someday have the capacity to build a million bots a year, which would sell for around $20,000 in today’s dollars. 

However, one of China’s leading robotics companies, Unitree Robotics, already has a humanoid robot on the market that can walk, dance, and perform basic tasks. Its least expensive version costs around $6,000. 

Seven robotics companies, including Unitree Robotics, AgiBot, EngineAI, Robot Era, and Dobot Robotics, were added to this year's Top 50 Most Innovative Companies list released by Forbes China yesterday. Only three robotics firms made the list in 2024 and 2023. @UnitreeRobotics… pic.twitter.com/UZgitbujug

— Yicai 第一财经 (@yicaichina) November 14, 2025

On the other hand, Musk has previously stated that Tesla has invested considerable effort in developing human-like hands for Optimus, describing it as “an incredibly difficult engineering challenge.” 

China’s government assistance and manufacturing skills also put the country in a good position to get a big stake in the humanoid robot industry, which is expected to be worth $5 trillion by 2050. This is a lot more than Musk’s estimate of 10 billion by 2040.

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