According to sources, newly appointed FBI Director Kash Patel, whose announced plans to restructure the country’s top law enforcement agency have alarmed many within the bureau, has suggested expanding the FBI’s workforce with assistance from the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the martial arts entertainment conglomerate whose affluent CEO, Dana White, helped support President Donald Trump’s reelection.

According to sources briefed on Wednesday’s call, Patel indicated during a teleconference with the leaders of the FBI’s 55 field offices that he wants the agency to formally partner with the UFC, which could create programs for agents to get fitter.

It has long been a weekly virtual meeting with the special-agent-in-charge of each field office, but this week’s call was the first conducted by Patel, who took the oath of office as director on Friday.

Within hours of the call on Wednesday, FBI officials nationwide, both current and former, learned about Patel’s UFC proposal.

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

What Patel would specifically like UFC to do or offer to help increase fitness among FBI ranks is unclear.

According to sources, Patel covered a variety of topics during the call, even though his UFC proposal caught the attention of some people who learned about the meeting.

Following the Justice Department’s demand last month for a list of the thousands of FBI agents who assisted investigations into the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol and the suggestion that even those merely carrying out orders could be fired, the new director attempted to allay some of the agents’ fears, according to the sources.

Patel’s recent announcement that up to 1,500 staff members at FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C., would be transferred to field offices and an FBI office in Huntsville, Alabama, also raised concerns. Concerns within the FBI were further heightened by the contentious email sent by the Office of Personnel Management last week, which demanded that all federal employees list their accomplishments from the previous week or risk termination, according to sources.

According to sources, Patel voiced his own worries during the call on Wednesday regarding that email and the unclear follow-up messages from the Trump administration’s new Department of Government Efficiency, which has been led by billionaire businessman Elon Musk.

During the call, Patel also praised the FBI’s efforts to combat crime and national security threats. According to sources, he also urged FBI officials to give him an opportunity to establish himself as their new leader. However, he also cautioned them that he would not put up with “leaks” or other types of disobedience.

However, it was Patel’s suggestion to approach the UFC for assistance that immediately generated some interest among FBI personnel. Patel now resides in Las Vegas, the home of the UFC.

White, who has a net worth of hundreds of millions of dollars, has been friends with Trump for a long time and contributed significantly to his presidential campaign last year. Shortly after polls closed on Election Day in November, he joined Trump on stage in Florida for his victory speech.

When no one else was willing to host UFC fights, Trump recalled how he “helped [White] out a little bit” years ago. He said that the UFC is now “one of the most successful sports enterprises anywhere at any time.”

The UFC “is the roughest sport I’ve ever seen,” according to Trump, with competitors who “really go at it.”

Trump sat in the front row between White and Musk at a highly publicized UFC bout at Madison Square Garden in New York City, just days after he won the election in November.

According to Frankel, who worked for the FBI for more than 20 years, the agency might gain from raising its physical fitness requirements, so the notion of the UFC supporting the FBI’s training program might not be as strange as it seems.

According to him, in the past, some FBI offices have invited martial arts professionals and others to provide agents with advice.

Frankel, however, stated, “I don’t want UFC to take over the gym.”

An FBI spokesperson told ABC News that they would not comment when asked about Patel’s proposal to work with the UFC.