Kash Patel wants to bring in UFC trainers to teach FBI agents hand-to-hand combat: report

FBI Director Kash Patel is trying to hire the UFC to teach special agents hand-to-hand fighting, MS NOW reports, citing an agency document from September. The plan calls for a single-vendor, one-year contract awarded without competitive bidding, a route the Trump administration has used before. The cost estimate was blacked out, so the value is unknown, according to The Independent.

The bureau says the program would build physical combat skill, mental toughness and tactical awareness for agents facing dangerous situations. It argues that UFC instruction in striking, grappling, defending against weapons and ground control, plus conditioning, meets FBI standards. The year-long term, the document says, gives the bureau time to research the market and lets other vendors prepare; any longer arrangement afterward would be competitively bid. The Independent has asked the FBI for comment.

The link comes as no surprise. UFC president Dana White is a longtime friend of President Donald Trump, who staged a UFC event on the White House South Lawn in June, and Patel attended. Earlier this year, current and former UFC fighters already ran a two-day session at Quantico for FBI academy students and senior staff, and Patel praised the partnership with White at the time.

Summarized by PolitiKool from The Independent’s reporting. Read the full story at The Independent →