The former UFC women’s bantamweight fighter filed a charge Wednesday with the United States National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), MMA Fighting confirmed. The complaint, written by labor attorney and Project Spearhead advisor Lucas Middlebrook and obtained by MMA Fighting, alleges that the UFC’s decision to let Smith go was “based on the animus it held toward her engagement in protected activity.”
Smith is one of the linchpins in the effort to organize and eventually unionize fighters. She is the interim president of Project Spearhead, which is asking UFC fighters to sign authorization cards to determine whether or not they are employees or independent contractors.