UFC fighter Leslie Smith is being sued by her former agents.
The Ballengee Group, a talent agency based out of Texas, is suing UFC star Nate Diaz for money they believed they are due.
The talent agency is also targeting Smith and lawyer Sam Awad in their lawsuit.
The group believes they are owed money for Diaz’s fight against UFC Lightweight Champion Conor McGregor back in August. The group claims they worked with Diaz starting in 2014. They say they helped Diaz make deals with the UFC for his fights against Rafael dos Anjos, Michael Johnson, and both McGregor fights.
Diaz fired the group last summer before the second McGregor fight took place. The Ballengee Group is suing Diaz for over $1 million for not paying them their cut of Diaz’s wages from the fight.
“My clients performed their job, what Nate Diaz asked them to do,” Ballengee attorney Jason H. Friedman told MMA Fighting. “They are due for that.”
Smith also fired the talent agency around the same time. They are claiming both Diaz and Awad conspired to get her to leave.
“They conspired to get Leslie Smith to also fire Ballengee and to not pay Ballengee,” Friedman said. “Awad, as the mastermind of the conspiracy, he and Nate left, then talked Smith into doing the same thing. You’ve got two fighters who my client successfully negotiated bouts for. I think Diaz’s fight was one of the most profitable fights of all time, from what I’ve been told. To do something like that to the guy who brought you to the show, that’s not right.”
