Tinker, Traitor, Manager, Spy
Ali Abdelaziz, a former NYPD & FBI informant-turned-MMA power broker backed by key MAGA loyalists, is using his roster of fighters to push Trump’s federal takeover.
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During his first video conference call with the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) field offices, newly-installed director Kash Patel discussed the idea of establishing a formal partnership with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
According to several sources who spoke to Reuters following the nationwide call last Wednesday, the partnership could see the UFC develop programs to improve the physical fitness of FBI agents, as well as their martial arts and self-defense skills. Patel reportedly mentioned during the call that Dan Bongino, a far-right podcaster tapped to be the FBI's deputy director, is a huge UFC fan and that he inspired Patel to try the training, which is what led him to consider the potential partnership.
While both the FBI and UFC have declined to comment on the news, UFC President Dana White revealed that he was aware of Patel’s proposal after meeting with the FBI director ahead of his senate confirmation.
“I had dinner with Kash a couple of weeks ago, before he was actually confirmed and, yeah, he wants to train FBI guys,” White told Sportico. “There’s no deal in place. It was just a conversation.”
Though it’s not clear exactly what Patel would want UFC to do, the potential partnership is not as bizarre as it may sound. Military and police forces around the world have utilized unarmed combat training to enhance their overall preparedness. Last year, the Canadian military organized jiu-jitsu seminars for various units. Gulf states such as the UAE incorporate BJJ practice in their military and police training.
Several FBI agents also have experience with unarmed combat, including retired agent George Piro, who led the FBI’s interrogation of Saddam Hussein. After retiring from the bureau, Piro won a first place title at the IBJJF (International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation) World No-Gi Championship, and has continued to train out of American Top Team. Piro was also appointed as the UFC’s independent anti-doping regulator after the organization’s split with the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).
Nevertheless, while Patel’s suggested partnership with the UFC has some historical precedence, it also underscores growing influence of the UFC and its leadership in Trump’s second term, and how some of the organization’s shadier characters, like former NYPD informant-turned-MMA manager Ali Abdelaziz, are using UFC fighters to further Trump’s federal takeover.
Prior to Patel’s confirmation, critics questioned whether the Trump ally had the necessary qualifications to lead the U.S.’s most powerful law enforcement agency. Patel had previously worked as a public defender, federal prosecutor and congressional aide before serving as a national security official in President Trump's first term. He later became a MAGA fixture and a Trump loyalist, claiming on his podcast that he planned to go after Trump’s perceived enemies, including those in the FBI.
Faced with significant opposition to Patel’s appointment, Trump loyalists began an aggressive campaign to bolster his nomination. A flurry of social media posts from MAGA influencers and, surprisingly, UFC fighters began popping up in late January, advocating for Patel’s confirmation. Among the fighters who showed their support for Patel were retired UFC star Jorge Masvidal, former UFC champions Frankie Edgar and Anthony Pettis, and former title contender Justin Gaethje. At least five other fighters shared posts advocating for Patel’s confirmation.
Apart from their support for Trump and Patel, these fighters had little in common—except that they were all represented by Dominance MMA, the management company founded by Abdelaziz.
The Informant
Abdelaziz has one of the wildest stories in MMA.
Best known as the manager of UFC star Khabib Nurmagomedov, the Egyptian native has a mysterious past that includes criminal activity with a terrorism-linked organization named Muslims of the America (MOA), also known as Jamaat al-Fuqraa, and working as a spy for the FBI and the New York Police Department (NYPD) within the group following the 9/11 terrorist attack.
After being imprisoned on charges of document forgery in 2002, Abdelaziz—whose real name is Alaa Eldin Fekry Ragab Abdel-Aziz—was recruited by NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence, David Cohen to work undercover collecting intelligence on the MOA and its activities. He was issued a green card, became one of the NYPD’s highest paid informants, and even cooperated with the FBI. However, his covert relationship with the U.S. government was eventually severed when agents concluded he was being “deceitful” on a polygraph test.
The story first broke in 2012 when Abdelaziz’s testimony about MOA was included in a book titled Twilight in America by Martin Mawyer, who founded an anti-Islamic organization called Christian Action Network. Abdelaziz had approached Mawyer to tell his story, believing it could help prevent his deportation after his relationship with the NYPD had soured. Then, in 2014, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists Matt Apuzzo and Adam Goldman released a book titled Enemies Within: Inside the NYPD's Secret Spying Unit and bin Laden's Final Plot Against America which confirmed that Abdelaziz was spy embedded inside MOA known as Confidential Informant 184.
An excerpt of the chapter discussing Abdelaziz can be viewed below, along with the rest of the article:
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