Veteran mixed martial arts referee turned Bellator MMA color-commentator John McCarthy has come forward with his thoughts on the UFC’s release of Leslie Smith.
Former UFC women’s bantamweight Leslie Smith was initially set to face off against Aspen Ladd back at UFC Fight Night 128. However, Ladd missed weight for the event by nearly two pounds.
After Ladd refused to attempt to cut any more weight, Smith elected to not accept a catchweight bout against the fighter. Consequently, the bout was removed from the UFC Fight Night 128 fight card.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) opted to award Smith her show money and a win bonus for the cancelled match, a rare occurrence from the promotion. It would later be revealed that the UFC used the fighter’s full pay as a method to release Smith from her contract with the promotion.
Smith only had a single fight left on her contract going into UFC Fight Night 128. By granting Smith her show money and a win bonus for the fight, the promotion allegedly claimed that the cancelled fight counted towards her contract.
Opting to not renew Smith’s contract, the fighter has since become a free agent. Of course, some fight fans believe the choice to not renew her contract had more to do with something other than her fighting prowess.
Leslie Smith is the founder and president of Project Spearhead. The project is dedicated to unionizing fighters in hopes of achieving a union similar to that enjoyed by athletes within the NBA.
The fighter’s decision to start the project has since potentially put Smith at odds with the promotion. Taking to Twitter, John McCarthy has decided to offer his thoughts on the matter.
Check it out below:
“@LeslieSmith_GF is a badass fighter and an even more badass woman. We all know why she got cut by the UFC. Keep your head up Leslie, your a fighter in so many ways and an inspiration to everyone who knows you!!!”
@LeslieSmith_GF is a badass fighter and an even more badass woman. We all know why she got cut by the UFC. Keep your head up Leslie, your a fighter in so many ways and an inspiration to everyone who knows you!!!
— Big John McCarthy (@JohnMcCarthyMMA) April 20, 2018
