Leslie Smith has carved a career out of fighting tooth and nail through the years.
A veteran of the all-female Invicta FC promotion, Smith (11-7-1 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) went on to fight in the UFC, where she forged a reputation for her never-back-down fighting style and penchant for back-and-forth wars.
But after her high-profile departure from the UFC, Smith found herself without a contract and looking for her next home. After just over two years away from the cage, Smith resurfaced as a Bellator athlete and registered a victory in her debut to kick off the latest chapter of her career,
Now looking to build momentum with her new promotion, Smith returns to action this Friday night at Bellator 233 against Australia’s Arlene Blencowe aiming to go 2-0 in Bellator and extend her winning streak to four.
Ahead of her 20th professional fight, we take a look back at the five fights that helped define her career so far.
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Kaitlin Young at Invicta FC 3 – Oct. 6, 2012
After fighting Kaitlin Young to a draw on her promotional debut at the inaugural Invicta FC event, Smith’s next outing was all but guaranteed to be against “The Striking Viking” as they agreed to run it back just two events later at Invicta FC 3.
This time around the judges weren’t required, as an inspired Smith turned up the heat and stopped Young in the second round to secure her first win in a major MMA promotion.
It highlighted the determined Smith as a force to be reckoned with in Invicta, and she proved that fact in her very next bout as she outpointed future UFC bantamweight title challenger Raquel Pennington three months later at Invicta FC 4.
Barb Honchak at Invicta FC 7 – Dec. 7, 2013
Back in December 2013 Smith headlined Invicta FC 7 on a card packed with women who would go on to be huge stars in the world of MMA.
Smith took on Barb Honchak in a battle for the Invicta 125-pound title and came up short after five hard-fought rounds. But her presence at the top of a card that featured the likes of Tecia Torres, Felice Herrig, Joanne Calderwood, Julia Budd, Nina Ansaroff and Lauren Murphy spoke volumes of her stature within the sport at the time.
It proved to be her final fight as an Invicta athlete as she, along with a host of her colleagues on that card, ended up signing with the UFC and continuing their careers in the octagon.
Jessamyn Duke at UFC Fight Night 45 – Jul. 16, 2014
Smith’s octagon debut didn’t go to plan as she lost a unanimous decision to fellow former Invicta athlete Sarah Kaufman, who completed a win-double over “The Peacemaker” following the Canadian’s split-decision win at Invicta FC 5.
It meant Smith was doubly determined to secure victory in her next outing against Ronda Rousey stablemate Jessamyn Duke, and she put on a show in Atlantic City as she finished Duke with strikes in less than half a round at UFC Fight Night 45.
It proved that Smith was a legitimate threat at the top end of the division, and catapulted her into a bouts with notable names Jessica Eye and Rin Nakai as she took her UFC record to 2-2.
Irene Aldana at UFC on Fox 22 – Dec. 17, 2016
After Smith was stopped in just 81 seconds by a peak Cris Cyborg at UFC 198, she bounced back in style against Irene Aldana at UFC on Fox 22.
Smith went into the matchup a sizeable underdog, but she came up big in a thrilling performance as she out battled the Mexican over all three rounds to earn a unanimous decision victory in Sacramento.
Smith’s victory gave her the biggest payday of her UFC career as she claimed an additional $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus to go with her show and win money as she bounced back from her loss to Cyborg and proved that, outside of the dominant Brazilian, she was still as tough as they come in the UFC’s women’s divisions.
In her post-fight interview, Smith explained her involvement with groups looking to establish collective bargaining rights for fighters in MMA, most notably a group called Project Spearhead. And that involvement, she believed, led to a personal battle with the UFC that became almost as significant to her career as some of her wars in the cage.
The UFC after UFC Fight Night 128, Apr. 21, 2018
Arguably the fight that garnered the most headlines during Smith’s career came not inside the cage, but outside.
As part of Project Spearhead, Smith was an outspoken campaigner for fighter rights and strongly believes her public backing and involvement with the movement was one of the key reasons behind her contract not being renewed with the UFC.
With Smith set to compete on the final fight of her UFC contract, her opponent, Aspen Ladd, suffered issues during the weight-cutting process and was pulled from the card. Rather than rebook the fight, the UFC opted to pay Smith her show and win bonus for the canceled matchup, effectively closing out her contract with the promotion.
Smith believed her association with Project Spearhead is one of the reasons the UFC decided to end her contract by paying her after the canceled fight. It led Smith to register a labor complaint against the UFC that was subsequently dismissed by the National Labor Relations Board.
“(The UFC) showed their cards,” Smith told MMA Junkie Radio in the aftermath of the weekend itself. “They showed that it’s more important to them to do this thing, this unprecedented paying of a win bonus – I don’t think that’s ever happened before – to someone who did not accept a fight because the other person came overweight. So for them to do that, I think indicates how much they don’t really want to have to deal with me anymore.”
Now a contracted Bellator athlete, Smith says she’s much happier in her new home.
“What I’m so excited about signing with Bellator for is that I do not think they do not have that climate of fear that was present in the UFC,” she said after her signing was confirmed. “They’re a company that cares. They listen to their fighters. They put their fighters first and they give them the opportunity to have sponsors and there is a lot of expression that can happen inside those deals with the sponsors.”
