Bellator featherweight title challenger Leslie Smith has applied lessons from studying labor movements in college to her approach to fighting. One of her main takeaways has been that organizing people requires more finesse than power – and conviction to see through the mission.
When Smith looks at Georges St-Pierre’s inability to take a boxing match with Oscar De La Hoya, she draws a direct line between the former UFC champ’s plight and his decision to abandon an effort to create a collective bargaining agreement for fighters.
Smith, who on Friday rematches Cris Cyborg for the title at Bellator 259, believes St-Pierre would be able to take a fight with De La Hoya if the Ali Act was applied to MMA.