In an unusual collaboration, FBI Director Kash Patel has announced that the Bureau will be partnering with the UFC, recruiting a group of current and former UFC figures to help train FBI personnel at the bureau's academy in Quantico, Virginia.
The two-day seminar, announced by the UFC in a statement on Wednesday, is scheduled for March 14 and 15 and is billed as a first-of-its-kind training session for FBI academy students and senior staff. The full list of fighters named in the official announcement includes Justin Gaethje, Jorge Masvidal, Chris Weidman, Claudia Gadelha, Michael Chandler, Manel Kape, and Renzo Gracie. UFC matchmaker Mick Maynard is also expected to take part in the Quantico seminar, although he is not a fighter.
Gaethje is the highest-profile active UFC competitor on the list. He is the current and two-time interim lightweight champion and has become one of the promotion's most recognizable stars. Chandler, another former lightweight title challenger, is scheduled to face Brazilian fighter Maurício Ruffy at the UFC Freedom 250 event on the White House lawn, along with Gaethje.
Masvidal, one of the UFC's biggest crossover names, joins the seminar as a retired star who is currently a professional boxer. Weidman, a former middleweight champion, is known for breaking Brazilian fighter Anderson Silva's 16-fight winning streak and winning the UFC Middleweight Championship, retaining the title for 7 years. Gadelha, the only female fighter listed, is a former strawweight title challenger and is one of the most accomplished women named in the seminar.
Patel and UFC CEO Dana White both framed the partnership as a serious training initiative. In the UFC release, Patel called it a "historic seminar" and said it would help FBI agents learn from "some of the greatest athletes on earth."
White said UFC fighters would head to Quantico to help strengthen the FBI's mixed martial arts and defense techniques. The event is set to be held at the FBI Special Agent Academy, the bureau's primary training ground for new agents, making the symbolism of the partnership almost as notable as the roster itself.
Patel had discussed bringing UFC trainers into FBI training shortly after taking office. Some current agents described the idea as "surreal" and "wacky." At that point, the arrangement was still unclear. The official announcement this week turned those early discussions into a formal program with named participants, dates, and a location.
President Donald Trump has long been closely aligned with White, one of his most loyal allies in sports, and the UFC is also preparing for a major event on the White House South Lawn on June 14, 2026, Trump's 80th birthday.
The UFC plans to install a 25,000-pound Octagon near the Oval Office and host the fights before roughly 5,000 guests, with public viewing expected from nearby lawn areas. Because the event would take place on federal land, it would not require the same local permitting process as a standard combat sports card in Washington.
