Dana White addresses FBI Director Kash Patel's statement on using UFC to train federal agents, reveals reaction of the fighters

By Johny Payne

Modified Mar 09, 2025 22:07 GMT

Kash Patel (left) met Dana White (right) at UFC 313 [Images courtesy: Getty Images]

Dana White has opened up about Kash Patel's recent suggestion about the FBI potentially procuring the services of UFC fighters to educate FBI agents in martial arts and self-defense. White -- who's long spearheaded the U.S.-headquartered UFC MMA organization -- addressed his subsequent conversation with Patel and highlighted how the fighters supposedly reacted to the FBI boss' proposal.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the United States of America's internal intelligence agency and the top-tier law enforcement body at the federal level in the nation. Patel, who's considered to be a veteran in the government and legal realms in America, was appointed as the FBI Director in the Donald Trump-helmed U.S. regime that officially came to power earlier this year.

Patel recently made waves by proposing that he'd like to get UFC fighters to train FBI agents in regard to fitness, martial arts, self-defense, and miscellaneous combat-related topics.

As reported by Reuters, podcaster and ex-law enforcement officer Dan Bongino motivated Patel to partake in UFC-esque training, which soon impressed the FBI Director. Apparently, it led to Patel genuinely considering a possible UFC-FBI partnership. Nevertheless, sources also implied that some current FBI agents disapproved of the idea.

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Kash Patel was notably in attendance for the UFC 313 event and met Dana White at the venue as well. On that note, during the UFC 313 post-fight press conference, White was asked about Patel's vision of the UFC and FBI potentially partnering with one another to help train FBI agents.

White responded by indicating that many fighters were elated and requested him for the opportunity to train the FBI personnel. The American MMA promoter stated:

"Well, after he [Kash Patel] said that, my phone blew up. You know, everybody wants to be the trainers to the FBI now. So, I got everybody -- but he's dead serious about that. I talked to him about it tonight. Yeah, he's dead serious. So, we'll see. We'll see how that starts to come together."

Check out Dana White's comments below (26:19):

Kash Patel poses alongside Dana White octagon-side at UFC 313

U.S. President Donald Trump and Kash Patel are both known to be UFC fans. Trump particularly boasts a long and storied history of friendship with UFC CEO and president Dana White. Over the years, Trump has personally attended various UFC events and enjoyed the MMA fights with his longtime friend White.

The UFC's latest main roster event, the UFC 313 pay-per-view (PPV) card, saw Trump's trusted aide, Patel, do the same. Patel attended the star-studded event, which transpired at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.A., on March 8, 2025.

Furthermore, Patel put forth an X post featuring himself alongside White and other MMA personalities, including MMA manager Ali Abdelaziz. The FBI Director affirmed his excitement about the fights and wrote: