Sources briefed about a virtual meeting held between the new FBI director and the 55 field office heads, saying that FBI Director Kash Patel suggested the FBI and the Ultimate Fighting Championship form a formal partnership to improve the physical fitness of agents.

ABC News reported that it was not clear what Patel expected the UFC to do to boost the fitness of the agents, but the news spread quickly to all agents across the country.

The entertainment giant is led by CEO Dana White, who helped boost President Donald Trump’s election.

For a while, the FBI heads’ virtual meetings, in which each field office’s Special Agent in Charge is included, have been held every week. But this was Patel’s first meeting since he became director on Friday.

“If they’re trying to up their physical fitness, the UFC is very specific in their fitness,” ABC News contributor Rich Frankel, a former special agent in charge of the FBI’s Newark, New Jersey, office, commented.

White’s net worth, estimated at hundreds of millions, is estimated in the hundreds. Last year, White was a major contributor to Trump’s presidential campaign. White also appeared with Trump during his victory speech at the Florida State Fair in November.

Trump said that he helped White “a little” when no one wanted to host UFC events. He also stated that the UFC is now “one of most successful sports enterprises in history.”

He said that the sport was “the roughest” he had “ever seen”, with fighters who were “really going at it.”

Just days after winning the presidential election, Trump attended a UFC match at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, where he sat in the front row, between White and Elon Musk, another major donor.

Frankel said that some offices have hired martial arts experts to provide fitness tips and others who offer fitness advice.

Frankel said, “He does not want the UFC taking over the gym.” He spent 20 years in the FBI.

Patel also discussed other issues on Wednesday during the phone call. These included concerns among agents following the Department of Justice’s January request for a list of FBI Agents who assisted in investigations after protests held at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Concerns were also raised over the announcement by the new director that up to 1,500 employees from the Washington, D.C., agency headquarters could be transferred to field offices or an FBI office in Huntsville, Alabama.

ABC’s sources reported that Patel expressed concern about an email sent by the Office of Personnel Management, which demanded that federal employees list their accomplishments or risk termination.

Elon Musk has led the DOGE’s efforts and sent out a follow-up email about the DOGE email. Musk also expressed concern about this.

Sources said that Patel also praised the FBI and asked officials to give him the chance to prove himself in his new role as director.

He warned them that he would not tolerate any insubordination or any leaks of information.