When Leslie Smith arrived in Atlantic City, NJ this week, it was likely with every intention of fighting. She had been training for weeks to face bantamweight prospect Aspen Ladd on the undercard of UFC Fight Night: Barboza vs. Lee. But, what now seems just as clear is that, win or lose, the UFC may not have had any intention giving her another bout in the Octagon.
Smith has been at the head of the burgeoning ‘Project Spearhead’ movement. An organization she launched with the hope of organizing UFC fighters to challenge their independent contractor status.