Leslie Smith was all set to fight Aspen Ladd tomorrow night on the preliminary card of UFC Fight Night Atlantic City, but then Ladd missed weight and Smith declined to continue on with the bout.
The fighter has since issued the following statement to Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting, saying the UFC has declined to extend her contract for another fight and that the fighter is no longer a part of the organization:
Here’s @LeslieSmith_GF’s side of today’s story. As you can read, she is claiming the UFC is paying her her show and win money but she added in a follow up that her understanding is that means her contract has been fulfilled. No word from UFC officials yet. pic.twitter.com/UvCZALSpTm
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) April 20, 2018
It should be noted that while Smith claims her deal with the UFC is complete, a statement has not been issued by the UFC on the matter.
Smith mentions in her statement to Ariel Helwani that the apparent end of the run in the UFC could be a political move by the company. That has yet to be confirmed, but the potential former UFC star is the interim president of Project Spearhead, which is attempting to get UFC and later Bellator MMA fighters unionized.
If Smith’s time in the UFC ends, it does so with the competitor holding a 4-3-0 mark in the promotion (10-7-1 overall). Smith would get victories in the UFC over Jessamyn Duke, Rin Nakai, Irene Aldana and Amanda Lemos, while suffering defeats to Cyborg, Jessica Eye and Sarah Kaufman.
