Leslie Smith was one of the many fighters who took part in the UFC Athlete Retreat last month in Las Vegas. Like many of her peers, she’s on the fence about whether the multi-day event full of public speeches and summits was worthwhile. Smith said it was difficult to relate with most of the speakers and take away valuable information because a large majority of fighters are far from wealthy.
Smith also is unsure about how game changing the new UFC Performance Institute, which opened the same weekend as the retreat, is. She can’t help but wonder if the organization slowly but surely increasing fighter pay instead of opening up a brand new institute at a cost of $14 million would have been better for her and her fellow athletes.