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Business  (https://www.ms.now/sports) Sports     (https://www.msnowevents.com/) Events  (https://www.ms.now/podcasts) Podcasts         News  Patel’s FBI wants to give UFC exclusive contract to train agents CEO Dana White has long been an ally of President Donald Trump and his administration. Agents would be trained in hand-to-hand combat.      Play  ()    Trump attends UFC fight on White House lawn for 80th birthday celebration  June 14, 2026 / 00:35           By  (https://www.ms.now/author/sydney-carruth) Sydney Carruth  and  (https://www.ms.now/author/ken-dilanian-2) Ken Dilanian   Oct. 9, 2026, 2:50 PM EDT    The FBI plans to offer the Ultimate Fighting Championship an exclusive one-year contract to train its special agents in hand-to-hand combat, according to a (https://govtribe.com/file/government-file/ja-dttt-redacted-dot-pdf) document released by the agency in September.  The UFC, according to the bureau, is “the sole qualified vendor” capable of providing tactical training that meets FBI standards. The justification for the contract cited the “expertise” the multibillion-dollar global media business has in mixed martial arts, striking techniques, grappling and takedowns.  The bureau said that market research determined that “no other vendor can provide comprehensive training encompassing all required skills at the necessary expertise level within the required timeframe.” UFC chief executive Dana White has long been an ally of the Trump administration, and FBI Director Kash Patel is a UFC fan. The FBI in March (https://www.ufc.com/news/ufc-and-fbi-partner-historic-first-exclusive-training-seminar) announced a partnership with the UFC in which a group of current and former mixed martial arts fighters affiliated with (https://www.ms.now/opinion/ufcs-white-house-event-puts-companys-labor-crisis-in-the-spotlight) the company conducted a two-day training seminar for students of the FBI academy in Quantico, Virginia. More articles (https://www.ms.now/news/kash-patel-white-house-ufc-attack-secret-service) Kash Patel ‘jumped the gun’ with announcement of UFC plot arrests, sources say  (https://www.ms.now/author/carol-leonnig) (Posts by Carol Leonnig) Carol Leonnig , (https://www.ms.now/author/ken-dilanian-2) (Posts by Ken Dilanian) Ken Dilanian , (https://www.ms.now/author/marc-santia-2) (Posts by Marc Santia) Marc Santia , (https://www.ms.now/author/lisa-rubin) (Posts by Lisa Rubin) Lisa Rubin   (https://www.ms.now/news/kash-patel-white-house-ufc-attack-secret-service) (Kash Patel, seen from the neck up, looks ahead.)     (https://www.ms.now/news/white-house-ufc-attack-plot-fbi-patel) 5 in custody over alleged plot to disrupt White House UFC event  (https://www.ms.now/author/sydney-carruth) (Posts by Sydney Carruth) Sydney Carruth , (https://www.ms.now/author/lisa-rubin) (Posts by Lisa Rubin) Lisa Rubin , (https://www.ms.now/author/julianne-mcshane) (Posts by Julianne McShane) Julianne McShane   (https://www.ms.now/news/white-house-ufc-attack-plot-fbi-patel) (Freedom 250 logo is seen in the foreground while the UFC octagon and firework display is visible in the background at night.)      Patel offered high praise for White at the time, saying he had “changed the game in the mixed martial arts industry” and that the FBI is “extremely honored to be partnered with him, the professionals, and the UFC.” “This is just Patel giving his friend Dana White a lucrative contract,” former FBI Hostage Rescue Team member Rob D’Amico told MS NOW. D’Amico had been a defensive tactics instructor at the bureau. White attended the (https://www.ms.now/news/trump-ufc-white-house-money) UFC cage fight Trump held on the White House South Lawn in June to mark his 80th birthday, and spoke alongside Trump after he won the 2024 presidential election.  The FBI’s proposed one-year deal with the UFC would bypass the typical competitive bidding process required for federal contracts. The bureau said it would conduct additional research over the course of the year before opening the bids on a longer-term contract to competitors.      (https://www.ms.now/author/sydney-carruth) ()    (https://www.ms.now/author/sydney-carruth) Sydney Carruth  Sydney Carruth is a breaking news reporter covering national politics and policy for MS NOW.  You can send her tips from a non-work device on Signal at SydneyCarruth.46 or follow her work on X and Bluesky.     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