The UFC has released several more fighters from its roster, including longtime lightweight contender Thiago Moises.
MMAFighting.com’s Guilherme Cruz revealed on Thursday that Moises was among the latest UFC roster removals.
The 31-year-old Brazilian first joined the UFC in 2018 after he won a UFC contract after winning on Dana White’s Contender Series. Since then, he has fought 16 times in the UFC with an identical 8-8 record inside the Octagon.
After losing three of his last four fights and his last two in a row, the UFC has decided to remove Moises from its roster, though Cruz notes that the promotion could always re-sign him in the future.
We’ll see what’s next for Moises, but he had some big wins in the UFC, including victories over King Green, Alexander Hernandez, and Michael Johnson. Given he is only 31, don’t be surprised if rival promotions such as the PFL reach out to Moises to sign him.
Cameron Smotherman, Ariane Carnelossi Removed From UFC Roster
According to Roster.Watch, which tracks UFC additions and subtractions from the UFC roster, the promotion recently released bantamweight Cameron Smotherman, who was 1-3 in the UFC.
After starting his UFC career with a decision win over Jake Hadley, Smotherman lost his last three fights in a row, including a devastating knockout loss to Kai Asakaura last month at UFC Macau. Losing three straight fights is often deemed cut-worthy by the UFC, and it appears that’s the case here with Smotherman, as he has been removed from the UFC roster.
As well, women’s strawweight Ariane Carnelossi is no longer on the UFC roster. The Brazilian joined the promotion in 2019, and she had a 3-4 record in the UFC. After losing three of her last four fights, including back-to-back stoppage losses to Ketlen Souza and Talita Alencar in her last two outings, Carnelossi has been removed from the UFC roster.
Matt Schnell Removed From UFC Roster Following Retirement
Finally, longtime flyweight Matt Schnell has been removed from the UFC roster after he retired from MMA following his loss to Alessandro Costa earlier this month.
Seeing Schnell’s name removed from the UFC roster is not a surprise at all, as it was just a formality since already confirmed he has retired.
That being said, Schnell had previously retired only to come back and fight again, so we’ll see what happens in the future and if he decides to come back again. But as of now, he’s retired, and he’s no longer a part of the UFC roster.
The UFC is expected to sign upwards of 50 new fighters this summer as part of the latest crop of Dana White’s Contender Series fighters, so that’s likely what has led to the promotion releasing several veterans over the past several weeks.
Although the UFC has about 700 fighters on its roster, it only holds 43 events per year, so it’s impossible not to release fighters from the roster when the promotion brings in new ones. For MMA fighters, being signed and released is simply part of the business, and it’s nothing personal.
UFC Releases More Fighters Including Thiago Moises