CEO Dana White has long been an ally of President Donald Trump and his administration. Agents would be trained in hand-to-hand combat.

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.”

  • Gates9@sh.itjust.works
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    1 hour ago

    Between this and Hegseth wanting to live broadcast executions, I’m exceedingly confident we’ll see real televised “Running Man” within ten years.

    • CrimeIsLegalNow@ani.social
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      2 minutes ago

      Nah, just corrupt. This is a handout to loyalists, which must suck ass for all the companies specifically created to train federal agents.

  • SnarkoPolo@lemmy.world
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    5 hours ago

    Every time I think Republican performative machismo can’t get any more ridiculous, they go and prove me wrong.

  • Treczoks@lemmy.world
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    8 hours ago

    It’s hard to make this government more laughable every day, but they live for the challenge.

  • Zedstrian@sopuli.xyz
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    10 hours ago

    Shit like this shows that it’s not just Trump that’s the problem, but that the MAGA movement as a whole is based on grift and political favoritism at the expense of competent governance.

    • bedwyr@piefed.ca
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      8 hours ago

      No kidding?

      I am sarcastic because the situation has been clear for 30 years at a minimum.

    • radiofreebc@lemmy.world
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      10 hours ago

      America is the problem. The whole country allowed (and is still allowing) this to happen.

      MAGA isn’t the hero America needed, but it’s the one they deserve.

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        9 hours ago

        The analogy isn’t quite right, but I know you wanted to use the quote.

        MAGA is Joker, and the US doesn’t have a Batman anywhere, maybe a few Gordons but they don’t have enough power to do much. Although as all analogies do, this breaks because MAGA leaders would never burn their half of the money for a message. They want every dime for themselves.

      • IAmYouButYouDontKnowYet@reddthat.com
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        9 hours ago

        It scares me that Americans want to go back to life before trump, that should t be the goal. As an American it looks like the left just wants to be able to live in earned privileges again.

        “Ignorance is bliss” IS their culture.

          • IAmYouButYouDontKnowYet@reddthat.com
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            2 hours ago

            Exactly!!! It’s like the culture is the virus but no one wants to admit it or is even capable of understanding because the culture dominantly focused of escapism and distraction from reality.

            Just as an example… People don’t even understand their individuality was marketed in order consolidate them into demographics that are more easily controlled. And that’s was in the analogs days.

            Now we have automated ai profiling and exact psychological pin-pointed specific marketing to each individual that is able lead them on whatever path is needed. …But for some reason that’s not the thing people are talking about, instead they talk about the marketed topics of Ai slop, and looping recycled drama of consumer ai.

            People think they are fighting the power or fighting for progression and freedom, but they are just acting out preconceived paths that are marketed to them and funded by the same people they claim to protest.

      • zbyte64@awful.systems
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        9 hours ago

        But if people would just vote differently and stop doing purity tests then the system would fix itself /copium

        • Auli@lemmy.ca
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          3 hours ago

          I mean little improvements at least. Vote for a candidate you can agree with on some and then keep moving the needle in that direction. But it doesn’t seem to happen in America and times are getting hard so people are shifting to the right.

  • CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world
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    10 hours ago

    The most ridiculous administration.

    Donnie and pals are easily some of the stupidest people we could have found for the job.

    • reddig33@lemmy.world
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      9 hours ago

      It’s all a grift. This is just another way to funnel government money to his pals and supporters.

      • EvergreenGuru@lemmy.world
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        6 hours ago

        It really is that, because all the UFC does is host the fight and pay the competitors. They don’t actually train fighters. At most they introduce them to coaches.

        All the training is done by people paid by the fighter in preparation for the match. If the FBi wanted to, they could interview that network of fighters and coaches, look into giving their agents mma training, etc.

        Besides that, I feel that mma requires years of training and have no idea how much time the bureau spends on hand to hand combat training. My personal take is that mma can harm your body, brain, and mind and you’re better off doing firearms training if you want to be able to protect yourself.

        • Auli@lemmy.ca
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          3 hours ago

          Agent being like come on I’ll take you down and bad guy pulls out gun and shots them.

    • bedwyr@piefed.ca
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      8 hours ago

      They are stupid, but principally they are gangsters that have eliminated any authority that could check them.

  • joseki@lemmy.zip
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    8 hours ago

    Weird so now FBI agents are going to gently cuddle the criminals until they tap out?

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    7 hours ago

    The stupidity of this aside, this isn’t the weirdest thing historically. Like boxers were often brought in to train soldiers in hand to hand combat for example. But the fact its UFC in particular is kinda the problem here, it’d be less notable if it was just mixed martial artists being brought.

    • Auli@lemmy.ca
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      3 hours ago

      Sure but the Boxing association or whatever it is called was never brought in to train people.

  • ikidd@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    9 hours ago

    I’d like to see how fast a well-trained and fit FBI agent would have a UFC fighter tapping out.

    Keep in mind, the FBI doesn’t generally get the fatass Meal Team Six LEO members that regular law enforcement hires.

    • bedwyr@piefed.ca
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      8 hours ago

      Idk about whom to root for in that situation. The FBI, while now somewhat professional, are not the good guys, and they never have been, not entirely.

      I like taking down organized crime, but they won’t be doing that now. Plus they have a shitload of mormons.

  • bedwyr@piefed.ca
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    8 hours ago

    Idiocracy, except run by the most malicious, dumb, and lead deficient assholes on the planet.