On the surface, Shaquille O’Neal and Adin Ross might not seemingly have much in common. But they both have an affinity for going viral.
And that they did on Sunday, thanks to footage that Ross captured at the UFC 314 pay-per-view in Miami, Florida. Only it wasn’t a joint effort — or at least it wasn’t portrayed as such — with the social media influencer sharing a series of videos of himself engaging in a war of words with the Hall of Fame center throughout then night.
The apparent issue between Ross and and O’Neal dates back to last month, when the former captured himself on video slapping the latter’s leg and spilling his candy at a previous UFC event. Ross later stated on a stream that O’Neal had instructed him to perform the stunt, telling the 24-year-old, “watch, you about to go viral.”
Shaq gets pissed at Adin Ross after he smacked his leg and spilled Shaq’s M&M’s 😭😭 pic.twitter.com/RQVvGYGorY
— FearBuck (@FearedBuck) March 28, 2025
Adin Ross reveals Shaq told Adin to smack the m&m’s out his hands saying
“Watch your about to go viral.”
— Adin Reports (@AdinReports) April 1, 2025
Despite Ross giving up the game, the two either kept the bit going or this has turned into an actual feud. In multiple videos shared by the streamer from Saturday, the Inside the NBA star can be seen seemingly threatening the streamer throughout the night.
“@shaq please do it,” Ross captioned one of the videos, in which O’Neal can be seen shouting obscenities at him as he walked by. “I can’t wait to sue.”
Shaq threatened to smack Adin Ross 😳 pic.twitter.com/6rFZfOcZYZ
— ꜰᴏʟʟᴏᴡ Sports Fights (@TheSportsBrawls) April 13, 2025
Shaq keeps pressing Adin Ross at UFC 314 😭😭 pic.twitter.com/YNFEBcSCXE
— FearBuck (@FearedBuck) April 13, 2025
Obviously, we can’t say for certain whether this is an extension of the purported bit the two started at last month’s UFC show or evidence of a real-life feud . But our B.S. detectors are going off. And if this was a ploy to go viral, it certainly appears to have succeeded, with headlines ranging from “Shaquille O’Neal’s heated exchange with Adin Ross could lead to a lawsuit,” “Shaq’s UFC 314 Clash with Influencer Adin Ross Sparks Legal Threat” and “NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal threatened with lawsuit after clash with influencer at UFC 314.”
At this point, Shaq’s affinity for going viral has been well documented. And regardless of whether this was a work or a shoot, it’s a safe bet that the four-time NBA champion is happy with how it’s played out.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.