Smith begins new effort to unionize fighters with Project Spearhead

Leslie Smith is taking another stab at forming a fighters' union.

The UFC bantamweight told MMA Fighting's Marc Raimondi on Monday she's launched Project Spearhead, an initiative she aims to see led primarily by her fellow fighters. Labor lawyer Lucas Middlebrook and UFC lightweight Kajan Johnson will play integral roles in the effort, one contending for full healthcare, monthly sponsorship stipends, a clear differentiation between title fights and superfights, and room on fight kits dedicated to sponsorships - among other provisions.

"This is kind of just another in a long string of efforts, but I think a lot of things separate it from the other ones," Smith said. "One of them being that this has no outside influences. This is for the fighters, it was come up with by me - a fighter."

Smith used to be involved with the MMA Fighters Association, a movement dedicated to extending the Ali Act in Congress and a longstanding antitrust lawsuit against the UFC as opposed to formally unionizing fighters. Her time with the MMAFA ended with her expulsion when she discussed unions with Kobe Bryant during the promotion's athlete retreat last year.

"That’s the goal of the MMAFA, to skewer the UFC and break it apart with this antitrust lawsuit. And I am not down with that, either. I actually really like fighting for the UFC. I like fighting for the UFC and I want to continue to do so.

"I think that the UFC’s business model is what has managed to bring MMA to the mainstream and general public and I don’t want to just blow up the vehicle that got us to where we are right now. I want to make that vehicle a little more rider friendly. Give it a couple more front seats - I want some fighters in the front seat of the vehicle the UFC has been."

Initiatives like the Professional Fighters Association and the MMA Athletes Association came and went after the UFC was sold in the summer of 2016. Smith was a member of the former but parted ways with the PFA when founder and baseball agent Jeff Borris reportedly violated confidentiality in divulging information to a group of MMA agents.

Project Spearhead's inception comes before the last fight on Smith's existing contract - a date with Aspen Ladd at UFC Fight Night 128 on April 21. The 35-year-old doesn't expect to be re-signed, hence her decision to launch during a typically crucial negotiation period for most fighters on the roster.

Smith claims she's fielded unanimously positive returns on her designs from many fighters over the past year, and attributed their lack of initiative to a fear of reprisals from the company. As for their reluctance to spearhead efforts to unionize, Smith maintains the identities of those who sign authorization cards and join Project Spearhead won't be made public.

"The main thing that I’ve gotten from everybody is everybody wants it to happen and they all want to be a part of it. But they don’t want to lead the charge … We don’t need a face for it. We need a backbone for the union. I feel like people definitely want it, but they don’t want to put themselves out on a limb for it. Well, that’s fine. The way that this is structured, they don’t have to put themselves out for it. All they have to do is sign a card, send it in."