The Coach | Fight Smith

About The Coach

For the last 15 years Leslie has either been coaching or teaching while pursuing her goals. She enjoys learning and sharing what she has leaned and has held positions teaching math, English, MMA, jiu jitsu and muay thai. Now she is ready to share what she has learned about structuring a lifestyle to become a world class fighter. Some of her qualifications and pursuits include being a professional MMA fighter who has spent the last 15 years fighting and training across the US and all over the world.

Experience

She has been ranked in the top 10 of all three weight divisions (125, 135 and 145) she has competed in.
She is a veteran of Invicta Fighting Championships, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Bellator MMA.
She has won Fight of the Night awards on multiple occasions.
Leslie has fought, trained or coached in NJ, NY, CO, CA, NV, WA, OR, NM, AZ, OK, KS, MO, AK, ME, Thailand, France, Scotland, Australia, Malaysia, Mexico, Brazil, Canada.
She is a jiu jitsu brown belt under Cesar Gracie and won double gold as a purple belt at the European Championships in 2022.
She has been coached in MMA by Cesar Gracie and learned from his achieving black belts Gilbert Melendez, Jake Shields, Nate Diaz and Nick Diaz.
She has been featured as an analyst for multiple organizations including Invicta and Tachi Palace Fights.

Leslie understands balancing other needs and obligations while pursuing a fighting career. She has accomplishments outside of the cage as well.

She holds a degree in Labor and Employment Relations from Rutgers University where she graduated Summa Cum Laude.
She has been a panel member at Rutgers University, the University of Oregon School of Law, and has been a featured speaker at the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, DC and introduced Andrew Yang during his 2020 presidential campaign in Los Angeles and San Francisco.