UFC president Dana White is not at all concerned about the labor complaint recently filed by Leslie Smith.
Women’s bantamweight fighter Leslie Smith was originally slated to face Aspen Ladd last April 21st in Atlantic City. But after Ladd missed weight and Smith refused to fight at a catchweight, the UFC decided to scrap the fight altogether.
The said fight was also the last on Smith’s contract, which she was paid out for, and the company subsequently decided to not extend it. This had then led to Smith filing a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board a week ago, stating the UFC had created a “climate of fear”, which she claims, violates federal law.
From his end, however, UFC president Dana White is not worried about this potential legal hurdle. In fact, it is not at all part of concerns.
“Apparently she did (file a complaint),” White said on the recent episode of the UFC Unfiltered podcast (transcript via MMAJunkie). “I don’t know that much about this to talk about it. I literally don’t know anything about it. I know that she’s upset and she filed something. She’s suing us or filed something with somebody. I don’t know.”
“I’m at a point in my life where I don’t focus on that sh-t anymore. That’s not my problem. That’s somebody else’s problem. I get to do all the fun sh-t.“
The 35-year-old Smith, who fights out of the Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Northern California, is also the founder of Project Spearhead, which was launched in the hope of unionizing MMA fighters. She last fought in July 2017, where she won via second-round TKO against Amanda Lemos.