Las Vegas, Nevada - Kash Patel, the newly appointed of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has reportedly floated the idea of bringing in Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fights in to train agents.
During a recent conference call, newly appointed FBI Director Kash Patel suggested bringing in UFC fighters to train agents in martial arts. © Collage: SCOTT OLSON / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP & PEDRO UGARTE / AFP
According to , Patel, who was to the role under President 's administration last week, spoke with the bureau's 55 field office supervisors in a video conference call on Wednesday, during which he said he is exploring a partnership with the UFC.
Patel explained that Dan Bongino, a far-right podcaster Trump recently , got him to try out a training session with the UFC, and he now thinks it would be great to bring it to his agency.
The UFC is owned by Dana White, a longtime ally of Trump's, who described the president as "the best human being I've ever known" at the in January.
Rich Frankel, a former FBI special agent, defended Patel's idea, telling that agents could benefit from increasing their physical standards, adding, "The UFC is very specific in their fitness."
But others have been more critical, with Reuters reporting that some agents have described the effort as "surreal" and "wacky."
A former Justice Department official told the outlet, "the answer is not to go to Donald Trump's best friend who runs the UFC... It's clearly motivated by the glitz and glamour show."
