The trip to Quantico finally happened! The UFC and FBI partnership hosted its first seminar on 14th and 15th March, a seminar designed to teach FBI officials combat techniques from some of the sport’s standout fighters. But one move from the FBI Director, Kash Patel, has drawn mixed reactions about the collaboration.

For those unaware, for over a year, Kash Patel has been advocating for the idea of a partnership with the UFC. According to his plans, the collaboration would bear fruit for FBI officers and academy students about the technicalities of hand-to-hand combat sports. Surely, everyone must have seen Patel in and around almost every major UFC event since last year.

Slowly and steadily, after building camaraderie with the UFC executives, the FBI Director fulfilled his idea and made it a reality. On March 14 and 15, the FBI Special Academy in Quantico, Virginia, hosted its first seminar, which was led by several standout UFC fighters.

The likes of Justin Gaethje, Jorge Masvidal, Chris Weidman, Claudia Gadelha, Michael Chandler, Manel Kape, and mixed martial arts legend Renzo Gracie were some of the names present for the exclusive training session. This was surely a big collaboration and something that had never been done before.

To that end, when the reports of such a partnership between UFC and the FBI surfaced, Gaethje was among those who immediately approved the notion. As such, the reigning interim lightweight champion felt the collaboration would only further improve the skills of the FBI agents. But how exactly did the first seminar go at Quantico?

Surely, the technical training session must have been constructive. But there was one bit, which was the FBI Director’s fashion statement, that drew more reactions than the actual tidbits from the seminar.

Fans react to Kash Patel’s outfit for the UFC-FBI seminar

Kash Patel has billed the UFC-FBI partnership as a massive opportunity for the FBI agents to learn from the greatest combat sports athletes in the world. But instead of what unfolded in the seminar, the talk of the town was the FBI Director’s sneakers.

Patel rolled in wearing a customized black, white, and yellow Nike low-tops. Surely an impressive fashion statement. But when he went up to the wrestling mat wearing the shoes, it enraged the combat sports community, and fans saw it as a disrespectful move. “Shoes never go on the mat, bruh,” a user commented.

Not only that, a few called for critical action against Patel. “No wrestling shoes. Arrest him, FBI,” another fan wrote. This is because mats are specifically designed for bare feet or specialized wrestling shoes to maintain cleanliness, prevent the spread of skin infections, and avoid damaging the mat surface.

When they saw the FBI Director violating that, the fans did not approve of the move. “Shoes on the mat show he’s unserious and has no idea what he’s doing in ANY CONTEXT,” a netizen commented. Meanwhile, another user also felt the same while watching Patel’s move.

“Shoes on mat, FBI/UFC gear, only stars/notable figures training, what seems to be a crowd at the bottom watching. Performative smh,” the fan wrote. Apart from that, several other netizens seemingly took sly digs and trolled Patel for not knowing such basic manners. “Bro wearing shoes on the mat is wild lol,” a fan poked.

Not only that, another fan threw a personal comment, directly mocking the FBI Director. “Patel’s foot stinks. He didn’t wanna air out the gym,” the user wrote. So, from the fans’ perspective, they demanded a more respectful demeanor from Patel towards the sport that he often rates highly.

Apart from hygiene and safety concerns, not wearing shoes on mats is a sign of respect for the training facility, the trainers, and the sport itself, and athletes always tend to follow those protocols.

Back in 2013, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Judo demonstrations with Alexander Mikhailin also did not sit well with some fans, as Putin did not wait for the traditional bow-in before the demonstration.

But of course, the FBI Director must not have done this intentionally to trigger the combat sports community. That said, what do you think about Patel’s action? Let us know in the comments below!