Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) continues to trim its expansive roster of mixed martial arts (MMA) talent.
Today (Thurs., June 18, 2026), it was revealed that three fighters have been removed from UFC’s active roster, meaning they have either been released from their respective contracts or the promotion decided not to re-sign them. Guilherme Cruz and the automated UFC roster tracker roster.watch reported the news.
The three fighters who lost their jobs are Thiago Moises, Cameron Smotherman and Ariane Carnelossi.
Moises (19-10) is by far the longest-tenured fighter of the group.
The 31-year-old Brazilian fought 16 times inside the Octagon and found some success, but inconsistency ultimately defined his UFC run. Moises was originally signed off Contender Series in 2018 and ran into Beneil Dariush in his promotional debut.
He started 1-2 in his first three UFC fights, but then rattled off three straight wins between 2020 and 2021, which earned him a main event against Islam Makhachev. Unfortunately for Moises, he lost that fight and never really got back into serious Lightweight contention.
In his final eight fights with the promotion, Moises went 3-5 and exited on a two-fight losing streak, including a brutal knockout loss to Jared Gordon (watch highlights).
Moises leaves UFC with an 8-8 promotional record and could absolutely return with a few wins on the regional scene.
However, that ended up being Smotherman’s only win inside the Octagon. He lost his next three fights, with his final defeat coming against Kai Asakura via brutal knockout (watch highlights).
“The Baby-Faced Killa” exits UFC with a 1-3 promotional record.
Lastly, Carnelossi (15-5) was axed after getting brutally knocked out in her last fight earlier this month (watch highlights).
The 33-year-old Brazilian powerhouse was part of the first fight back in front of fans after the COVID-19 pandemic at UFC 261, where she and Na Liang beat the life out of each other for two rounds until Carnelossi eventually scored the finish.
Since that wild fight, Carnelossi went 2-3 inside the Octagon and was finished in her final two appearances.
Carnelossi exits UFC with a 3-4 promotional record.
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