Leslie Smith Files Labor Complaint Against UFC

Former UFC women’s bantamweight Leslie Smith is fighting back at the promotion.

On Wednesday, May 2, 2018, it was revealed that Smith had filed a complaint against Zuffa, which is the UFC parent company, over unfair labor practices.

In the complaint, she is alleging that the promotion terminated her employment to retaliate due to her efforts with Project Spearhead.

Project Spearhead legal consultant Lucas Middlebrook, who penned the complaint, stated that promotion released the fighter “based on the animus it held toward her engagement in protected activity” while also sending an anti-union message to other fighters.”

“Dare to form, join or assist a union and you too will accompany Ms. Smith not fighting in the UFC,” Middlebrook wrote (courtesy of MMA Junkie).

If you recall, Smith was supposed to fight women’s bantamweight competitor Aspen Ladd at UFC Fight Night 128. However, Ladd missed weight by 1.8 pounds for her preliminary card bout. This led to Smith refusing to accept the fight, which is understandable.

This led to a strange situation. The UFC reacted in a weird way as they decided to pay Smith her show money and win bonus for the event.

With this fight being the last on her contract, they decided not to extend her contract. Thus, she is now a free agent.

It should be noted that she is referred to as an employee in the complaint which is different to the independent contractor status Zuffa applies to its fighters.

To write the wrongs of what the UFC did, Middlebrook and Smith are hoping to get justice.

“There simply can be no dispute ZUFFA took adverse action against Ms. Smith, and based on the facts set forth herein and those to be uncovered in the investigation into this issue, ZUFFA’s animus toward Ms. Smith’s protected activity was the substantial or motivating reason for the adverse action(s) taken against her,” he wrote.