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 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 announced a partnership with the UFC in which a group of current and former mixed martial arts fighters affiliated with the company conducted a two-day training seminar for students of the FBI academy in Quantico, Virginia.
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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 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.
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.
Ken Dilanian is a justice and intelligence reporter for MS NOW.
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